Councillors in the Loughrea Municipal District have threatened to travel to Dublin to confront Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII ) directly, following what they described as a prolonged refusal by the agency to send a representative to meet them locally about ongoing road safety and traffic management issues.
The warning was issued at a meeting of the Loughrea Municipal District on Monday, January 12, amid mounting frustration over delays to works on the N65 at Heathlawn, concerns about speeding, and the absence of meaningful engagement from TII.
Cllr Jimmy McClearn (FG ) opened the discussion by highlighting inconsistencies in how traffic calming measures are applied nationally, particularly speed ramps on national secondary routes.
“There was a lot of discussion about speeding recently, the whole question around ramps in the area,” he said. “I was up in Cavan at a funeral, and I passed through the village of Ballinagh, Cavan, on the N55, a national secondary route. There are extensive speed ramps in the village, and I am thinking: what is unique about Ballinagh compared to the N65 or any of our regional or national routes?”
He said Galway County Council engineers had previously been told certain measures were not permitted, yet similar works had proceeded elsewhere. “We were told information that was granted to our engineers, but somehow Cavan County Council managed to get them, and I am curious as to why it can happen in Cavan, but it can’t happen in Galway.”
Cllr McClearn said patience had run out regarding the N65 at Heathlawn. He referred to an email from engineer Gerard Haugh confirming that consultants had still not been formally appointed.
“This has been going on since September 2024. We were told consultants would be appointed in 2025 and work would begin in 2026. We were told on two occasions that someone from TII would come to our meetings and talk to us. At this stage, Chairman, I can’t accept this any longer.
“People are being inconvenienced every day of the week, and no one seems to care. If the TII won’t come to us, we have to go to the TII. I am not going to live with this every day. Someone mentions this every day, and the public doesn’t differentiate between Galway County Council and the TII. The way we have been treated is outrageous.
“There is no respect for any of us, no respect for the road users,” he continued. “I’m not even going to ask TII to come down. I will be calling for a public meeting and will be asking all my colleagues who are available to come.”
Engineer Gerard Haugh said there was no blanket policy against traffic calming but stressed that strict criteria applied. “We don’t necessarily have a policy against traffic calming, but there has to be specific criteria, specific line work,” he said. On Heathlawn, he said the update related to the “formal appointment” of consultants, which he expected “in the coming days and weeks”.
Cllr McClearn responded bluntly: “I am afraid we are beyond that. We have been disrespected beyond belief.”
Cllr Declan Kelly (Ind Ire ) said the situation demonstrated a deeper problem. “It’s clear to me that TII is not fit for purpose. By the time infrastructure is implemented in Heathlawn, it might be three years, and something like the stop-go system will still be in place,” he said. He called for TII to be brought before an Oireachtas committee and said a public meeting was now the “next route forward,” noting similar dangers at Killimor Cross. “You’re risking your life trying to merge,” he said, adding that the cost of temporary traffic systems could instead fund permanent solutions.
Cllr Ivan Canning said accountability was urgently needed. “We need to get an answer from someone. If it’s to go to Dublin we will but it is sad that there is no representative to come down to meet us,” he said. “TII is a multi-million euro train that is running every day, and it’s a shame they can’t send someone down. We had issues before with the ESB, and at least they sent someone to talk to us.”
He warned: “There is a car or a van or something going to go into the road, because the road is ruined. Whatever we need to do to go forward, TII have to stand up and be held accountable. They either come to us or we go to them.”
Cllr Michael Regan echoed the anger, saying little progress had been made since he was co-opted into Galway County Council following the appointment of Senator Shane Curley. “I’m here 10 months, and we haven’t moved one inch. Every day, there are near misses. It’s totally ridiculous. It is going on two years now. People are saying the council is doing nothing.
“The council or TII need to do something.”
He also questioned the refusal to trial speed ramps. “In every residential estate, we have a ramp. The council wants the ramps, but on a road like the one coming into Craughwell, where 97 per cent are doing over the speed limit, we don’t have one.”
In response to this, Haugh explained that traffic calming measures such as ramps needed to fit specific criteria, and with the maximum recorded speed for the road into Craughwell, which is a 60km/h zone, reaching stunning speeds of 147km/h, estimated traffic management systems would be costly and would have to be suitable for such driver behaviour. He confirmed that road calming measures for Carrabane were the second-highest priority, and Craughwell was “the most pressing issue” at hand.
Returning to the broader issue, Cllr McClearn said TII’s approach reflected a wider failure of state agencies to engage with elected representatives. “TII have disrespected the mandate given. They can sit up on their ivory tower in Dublin, but we are down here dealing with the public. The public wants answers, and we are not getting them. We have been too patient and too quiet about this.”
This article is funded by Comisiún na Meán.
