*Hermitage. Photograph: John Mangan
SURFACES of the roads and footpaths of Hermitage are in an “acceptable condition” according to senior engineers in Clare County Council despite ongoing complaints for close to two years following a resurfacing job.
Hermitage residents have been left frustrated since August 2023 when a three-day job to resurface the roads resulted in what they have described as “atrocious” work which has “destroyed” the area.
High costs involved have been repeatedly flagged by senior officials in the Council in response to criticisms and requests for the removal of the existing concrete roads.
Cllr Antoinette Baker Bashua (FF) herself a resident of Hermitage called on the Ennis Municipal District to complete “a full review of the deteriorating condition of road and footpath surfaces in the Hermitage area. Residents have raised ongoing concerns about exposed concrete, uneven surfaces, and trip hazards along footpaths”.
She said the road surfacing completed in 2023 “has proven inadequate in several areas, with visible signs of wear and poor-quality finishing. In addition, the footpaths were coated with a material that has since cracked and developed potholes”.
Acting senior executive engineer, Paddy Tiernan acknowledged many of the roads in Hermitage “benefited from surface treatment in 2023. At the time some residents expressed displeasure with respect to the material used. However the material has since bedded in and in general it is our opinion that the roads in the Hermitage area are in an acceptable condition. Other localised issues with respect to water ponding have also been addressed”.
Commitments to carry out an additional survey were given but he flagged “(I) must caution, and as previously advised, it will be extremely difficult to obtain the level of funding required for full removal and replacement of existing concrete roads. With respect to the damaged footpaths, we commit to carrying out a survey at the earliest juncture and where warranted will replace or repair any sections of defective footpaths. I can confirm a certain level of funding is available for such works”.
Speaking at the June meeting of the Ennis MD, Cllr Baker Bashua said she was “so not happy” with Tiernan’s reply and that the conditions were unacceptable under health and safety alone. She said she was elected last year with a mandate but is at risk of losing the trust of the public if she cannot sort out an issue outside her front door. “The road just isn’t fit for purpose, the people who laid the surface did not do it properly,” she stated and urged the Council to get the company responsible to come back and “fix the mistakes”.
In March of last year, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) tabled a motion on the same subject and seconded the latest proposal. “The residents have been very displeased with the end result,” she commented while acknowledging the “cost issues”.
Questions were raised of the “monetary value to do a certain way versus what is done” by Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF). He said he walked the road and has spoken to unhappy residents.
According to Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle (SF) “the road surface is not befitting of our established estates or any estate, if we have to do sections in concrete so be it”. He continued, “It wasn’t finished or laid the correct way, water was pooling the day after thy finished where water never pooled before”.
Tarring the road was touted before in response to a motion by Cllr Pat Daly (FF), he reminded the top table. Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) also lended his support to seeing the surface improvements completed.
Mayor of the Ennis MD, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) sympathised with her colleague, “This is in your own backyard, it is not good enough, if we’ve an unhappy elected representative then we need to fix this”. She compared the work done in Hermitage with that in St Michael’s Villas and said she had no criticisms from residents in St Michael’s Villas. “The tar is used all over the country by local authorities so is this a case that the job was not done right,” she asked. Cllr Guilfoyle interjected to flag that St Michael’s Villas residents had expressed frustrations.
“It is hard to sit here and say we can ignore it,” the senior engineer told councillors. Had tar been used it would have resulted in water getting shoved onto people’s property and posed a risk of cracking walls or the grotto “if costly or expensive,” he explained.
“This surface chosen because we’ve used at glor library and it gets more traffic so it has bedded in, it is used in Shannon, Galway, Limerick and everywhere,” Tiernan stated. “The two communities we’ve used the surface in are older Council estates with concrete roads, we are trying to extend longevity of the roads. The road in my opinion is functioning. There are bits of grit at St Michael’s Villas which we expected would bed in. I don’t think there’s a health and safety issue from an engineering perspective but maybe I need to look through someone else’s eyes”.
Tiernan said he would visit the area with Cllr Baker Bashua to “try come up with a long-term plan suitable toe everyone but it will be a massive challenge to fund this, I can’t walk away and say it will be solved in twelve or twenty four months”. He added, “I won’t shy away from meeting residents, we took heat in St Michael’s Villas but that is our job. I don’t have a solution”.
Responding, Cllr Baker Bashua said she was not expecting the senior engineer to solve it on his own, she was not blaming him but depending on him to fix it. By Guerin’s old shop there is a gap where someone can twist an ankle, she warned, “they may not break neck but in an ageing community the recovery is slower”. She asked the Council to try do improvements in stages. “This is not going to go away, I’m getting this every day, I might get a great outcome on something in the Council but when I go back to my own neighbourhood and people are pointing this out to me. There is nothing wrong with the surface, it is the workmanship”.
