Louth councillor raises concerns over Armagh Rd pedestrian safety issues

Cllr John Reilly brought up the issue of the lack of a footpath on the Armagh Road at the Carnbeg Hotel, at the Louth County Council October meeting, asking the executive to send out an engineer to the site to examine the issue with him.

Cllr Reilly has raised the issue at a number of council meetings over the past number of months, highlighting his concerns regarding the realignment of the road, and the danger he believes it poses to pedestrians. 200 asylum seekers are being accommodated at the Carnbeg Hotel at the moment, by the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS).

Cllr Reilly told the meeting that the residents of the hotel are using the road to walk into Dundalk and with the absence of a footpath, believes it is “a very very serious situation.”

In response however, Chief Executive Joan Martin, said: “I've dealt with it on numerous occasions and our position has not changed, that situation is a matter for IPAS, they put the people in the hotel.” Ms Martin said that the health and safety of the resident of the hotel is a matter for IPAS, adding, “they should have done a risk assessment and looked at the situation.”

Cllr Reilly raised the matter again a short time later, saying that the road realignment was “like my jiving – all over the place”, and that it has contributed to the road safety at the site. "Turn a blind eye to it if you wish but when there's a fatality with it, who is going to stand up and take responsibility”, he added.

In response, the Chief Executive said “I'll review the matter again with my staff but putting the 200 people there was not done by Louth County Council, they are not the responsibility of Louth County Council.”