Leitrim storm damage sparks calls for excavator funding

Following extensive storm damage in Leitrim, calls have been made for the Council to seek Government funding to purchase a rubber wheeled excavator and tree shears to remove dangerous and overhanging trees.

Cllr Justin Warnock proposed the motion at a meeting of Manorhamilton Municipal District, requesting that the MD seek funding from the Minister for Transport to cover the purchase and operational cost of these machines.

“The work should be done now, we shouldn’t have to wait until another storm,” Cllr Warnock said. “Mitigation is about planning ahead and getting the work done.”

He highlighted a “serious issue” in Leitrim, where fallen wires are affecting all types of roads, including regional, local and tertiary roads.

“We need to get a machine not just for this municipal, but it’s something that should be done nationally.”

Cllr Warnock also noted ongoing discussions about forestry changes and ash dieback, arguing that sufficient funding is available to address this issue as well.

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Additionally, he criticised the roll out of fibre optic broadband.

“The roll out of fibre broadband cost the state over a billion and they’re going from one pole to another and straight through the trees,” he said.

He explained that he had been informed that when a fibre optic broadband connection breaks, it must be repaired from two different points, making the process more difficult and time consuming.

He claimed the rollout was poorly executed.

Cllr Mary Bohan added that many elderly residents are still without their house phones, and many don’t use mobile phones. She suggested calling on Eir to speed up response times.

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