THE slashing of
Donegal's road budget by half is a "devastating
setback" for the county, according to Sinn Féin.
Cllr Pádraig MacLochlainn expressed his party’s
bitter disappointment at the National Road
Authority’s allocation to Donegal for 2009. The
allocation has been more than halved to €9,634,676
compared to last year.
”This announcement is a devastating setback for
Donegal. The importance of developing our
infrastructure within County Donegal and the access
to and from this county cannot be overstated," said
Cllr MacLochlainn.
"There is no doubt that Donegal and the greater
North West area are at a distinct disadvantage from
the rest of the country because of our poor
transport infrastructure."
The national roads spend of €1.44 billion - €120
million per month - has decreased by around 15% from
last year's allocation of €1.68 billion. Donegal
County Council had sought €30 million in funding
from the NRA for this year. In real terms, the
county has received less than 1% of the overall
national budget.
Cllr Mac Lochlainn added: “It is inconceivable that
the National Roads Authority failed to take on board
the specific unique economic situation that persists
in Donegal. That’s bad enough but we didn’t even get
an allocation that reflects the population of the
county at approximately 4% of the national figure.
“The priorities identified by Donegal County Council
were the Ballybofey/Stranorlar bypass, the N14 from
Letterkenny to Lifford, the N15 from Lifford to
Stranorlar, the N56 from Mountain Top to Coolboy and
the N56 from Mountcharles to Killybegs and the N14
Letterkenny relief road. Only a portion of this
overall strategy can now be progressed in the time
ahead." |
