East Clare roads are not receiving as much funding for repairs as in years gone by, local councillors have claimed.

Discussing a motion put forward by Cllr Pat Burke (FG), Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) expressed the view that roads in the Killaloe Municipal District were not getting their fair share when it came to improvements. “My belief is we are not getting as many as we used to get,” he said in reference to roads making the CIS and LIS schemes in East Clare.

A request had been tabled by Cllr Burke to include the L40361 at Derrainy, Whitegate in the 2021 roadworks programme for surface dressing.

Senior executive engineer, Tom Mellett advised that the road would be better served from the LIS scheme than the roadworks programme. He said the local tertiary cul-de-sac’s most recent PSCI condition rating in 2014 placed it at a 5 and 6 in different sections, “this road will require more substantial works beyond what surface dressing would achieve”.

“This local road north of Whitegate is a very scenic route albeit it is a cul-de-sac,” Burke admitted. He outlined that three residents were living on the stretch of road but highlighted “one of them has a thriving tourism business”. Burke continued, “In the summer time it is quite busy, there are mini buses collecting people from Shannon Airport and travelling this road”. He commented that the road was “passable to an extent” but had not underwent any improvements in twenty five years.