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Farren angered at Council cutbacks 03.02.10
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
LABOUR Councillor Martin Farren has blasted a recent
Donegal County Council decision to cut the number of
days it spends cleaning the streets around Moville
and Greencastle from five to one.
The Council service, which previously continued all
week, maintaining an area in East Inishowen from
Shroove to Muff, is now only carried out on a
Friday.
Speaking to the Inishowen Independent, Cllr Farren
said that it was an ‘unacceptable’ decision.
“This area along the Foyle is a tourist location and
we have to maintain the high standards delivered up
to now by this excellent service,” he said.
“We can’t have visitors coming into Moville or
Greencastle on the ferry and looking at rubbish. We
have an image of being an idyllic seaside location
and we need to make sure that is not lost.”
Cllr Farren said he had been contacted by concerned
business owners in the Moville area.
“Hotels, shops and other businesses pay huge rates
and are entitled to this vital service. I am calling
on the Council to resume this scheme as soon as
possible,” he said. |
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Cllr Farren was keen to
pay tribute to the council workers, previously
employed full-time on the maintenance scheme.
“The men on the ground have given great service to
the area but they need to be allowed to continue
their efforts,” Farren added.
Senior roads engineer, Stephen Flynn, said Donegal
County Council was committed to keeping Inishowen
towns as tidy as possible with the resources
available to them.
“We employ different models in every town. Some are
cleaned in conjunction with community groups, like
Tidy Towns committees, while others are solely
maintained by the Council,” he said.
“We will have a meeting on this issue at the end of
the month, when councillors and local
representatives can have their say on how we go
forward.”
He said the decision to temporarily downgrade the
service was taken to bolster the winter maintenance
effort after the recent freezing spell.
“Our primary focus is currently to repair badly
damaged local roads following the frost. We are not
withdrawing our work on keeping towns tidy we simply
need to look at how it will be carried out in the
future,” Mr. Flynn added. |
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