“She has failed the people of Drogheda and south Louth”
In the wake of the failure of Louth County Council’s funding application for Drogheda’s vital Northern access Route Independent Councillor Paddy McQuillan has laid the blame firmly at the door of the Council and says that the Chief Executive Joan Martin should resign.
“The Port Access Northern Cross Route is more than a road” McQuillan said. “It is a lifeline for our town. It ensures less trucks and cleaner air in our town centre, it will create life chances for people and give people the opportunity to own a home.
“It will create employment for the many young people unemployed in the county. It will increase our population by over twenty thousand and aid the City Status bid.
“Yet again Louth County Council have failed in their application for funding for this project. This is the third time they have had their application turned down for this. This is unacceptable for me and for the people of Drogheda.
“In Minister O’Brien’s response to the refusal of funding he stated that he will work with LCC to strengthen the proposal and identify potential improvements. The application was sub-standard.”
McQuillan says that Drogheda’s three TD’s should have been “sitting on the shoulders” of whoever was making this application and that external experts should have been involved to ensure that it was successful this time around.
“When the COVID bill comes, the government will need to take money from everywhere to pay it” McQuillan stated. “Who knows if there will be funding next year?
“At the end of the day, it is the Chief Executive Joan Martin that signs off on all these applications. The buck stops with her. If she is unable to submit an application to the standard required to get this application over the line and secure funding then she should resign.
“She has failed in her duty as Chief Executive of Louth County Council. She has failed the people of Drogheda and south Louth.
“We have been waiting over a decade, with three unsuccessful applications, for this development for our town. This is totally unacceptable.”
Drogheda Life contacted Louth County Council this morning for their comments on the PANCR funding knockback but received no response.
