Donegal Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Dismay at delay on Drung Road repairs - Sinn Féin

Published: 14 June, 2006

Sinn Féin County Councillor Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has expressed concern at the lengthy delay in finishing vital repairs on the Drung Road, which is a section of the main artery from Derry to Moville.


Cllr Mac Lochlainn said:


"Since my election in 2004 I have continuously raised this issue and I am extremely frustrated at the slow process in delivering a completion date for this stretch of the road. This year there will be a further €300,000 spent on the road to remove one of the dangerous corners.


"However, I find the whole funding mechanism extremely slow and frustrating. For example, this year we are going to have to spend a substantial amount of funding from the EU co-financed budget to widen the road alongside Moville training college and put a footpath in place. This finance should have come from the Department of Education at the time the school was built. Money should not have been diverted from other important projects in Inishowen but should have come directly from the government.


"When planning permission is granted to developments throughout Inishowen it is now expected that they should put in place the necessary roads, footpaths and lighting infrastructure to go along with the increased pedestrian traffic, which will naturally occur following a development but this did not happen in Moville Community College. We are now playing catch up with this money that could have been spent on the Drung Road.


"Residents from Moville and along Redcastle and Quigley's Point have lost confidence in the County Council and are deeply angered at the slow rate of progress. Obviously the condition of the road in its current condition is a danger to the public and very frustrating. The public need to know that as public representatives we are walking into a literal brick wall in terms of bureaucracy and lack of funding to develop the key infrastructure. How can we possibly hope to attract inward investment to develop these areas if the proper infrastructure does not exist?


"I would like to see a firm commitment to a completion date on this road and it is imperative that happens in the not too distant future."