Tragedy sparks call for urgent action on lack of footpaths in Raphoe

A lack of footpaths that should serve five roads in an area in Raphoe including a number of housing developments could lead to more tragedies in the area, it has been claimed.

Local councillor, Frank McBrearty Jnr raised the issue at a private meeting of the members of Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District on Monday after their formal meeting had been adjourned as a mark of respect to the passing of William Doherty, the father of one of the councillors, Liam Doherty.

Cllr McBrearty Jnr said he was prompted to raise this matter due to the sad passing on Sunday of Teresa Hepburn, a mother and friend of his family. He felt children, the elderly and others living in this area could be in danger due to the lack of footpaths in the Guesthouse End or Glen area of the town.

He claimed that people walking in the areas around housing developments such as Meadow Hill, Railway Road, Castle Avenue, Carnowen Road and Beltany Road have to deal with a blind corner and no footpath.

He added he has consistently pointed out the dangers at this spot through various motions over a number of years but nothing had been done about it.

Cllr McBrearty Jnr revealed that he had contacted the council over the weekend and was informed that at the time of his last motion on the matter, the cost of footpaths in the area was estimated at €300,000 and that this was beyond the scope of funding available under the council’s normal maintenance budgets.

It also stated that a funding application submitted in September 2020 to the Department of Transport for this project was unsuccessful.

The reply continued: “In the interim council staff have engaged with the National Transport Authority under their Active Travel programme and €120,000 had been provided by the NTA to undertake the preliminary design of this project this year. The council confirmed this in an e-mail to all councillors on January 28 last.

“It is expected, subject to Part 8 planning approval, successful land acquisition and NTA continued funding, that this footpath will be constructed next year.”

In a written reply to the council's roads section on Monday morning, Cllr McBrearty Jnr said he was not happy.

“Go and look at the records and you will see that I have been raising the road safety of this road since 2009. As usual, no accountability for a problem that could have been avoided. The income from social housing at €12 million-plus a year is not spent on housing and the council gave planning for new social housing development and ignored the fact that a footpath is needed,” he said.

He added this was no consolation to the family of the woman who had died.

“I will hold Donegal County Council to account for their failures in addressing the footpath and road safety issues in this area of Raphoe and other areas in Raphoe,” he said.