Councillors fight to have north Wexford's roads repaired by crews - 'Some people consider them to be in Wicklow, but they're not'

"The people up there feel disaffected because of how north they are in the county. They feel forgotten about, some people consider them to be in Co Wicklow, but they are proud Wexford people. What Cllr Boland said is no exaggeration, he's actually been very reserved in his contribution there."

"There were resurfacing works carried out on the Arklow to Gorey road and there wasn't even any potholes on it. That money could have been used to carry out works on rural roads like the ones in Ballyfad."

"None of them are included in the list of works for this year. I wonder has the senior engineer ever been up that way at all, could they at least be looked at?"

Councillor Nicky Boland raised concerns at a Wexford County Council meeting about six neglected roads in the Gorey district that have been repeatedly ignored by road crews and excluded from annual maintenance plans. He questioned whether senior engineers had visited the area. Cathaoirleach Joe Sullivan supported his concerns, noting that residents feel disaffected and forgotten due to their northern location, with some mistakenly considered part of County Wicklow. Director of Services Eamonn Hore explained that maintenance lists are compiled by district engineers based on road damage severity and available funding tranches. Councillor Anthony Donohue highlighted the disparity, pointing out that national roads receive funding regardless of condition, while rural roads like those in Ballyfad remain neglected despite greater need.

Read at Irish Independent