By Andy Spearman
Now that the dust has settled after the local elections and everyone’s sleep patterns are getting back to normal following two days and nights of the count, it’s time for the Drogheda Councillors to get to grips with the job of work facing them.
With large sections of the town literally falling apart, the housing crisis as bad as, or worse, than ever, the lack of inwardinvestment, rampant crime and myriad other issues, the time for petty, inter-party wrangling and point scoring is long gone. It is time for Drogheda’s Councillors, three TDs and others in positions of power to work together to convince decision makers, that action is needed, not promises.
The three new councillors, Ejiro O’Hare Stratton, Anne-Marie Ford and Eric Donovan, will of course need some time to feel their way into the job but the other seven are seasoned campaigners and should be able to hit the ground running.
Top of their agenda must be to come up with a plan to put a stop to the rot of dereliction. It is time for some imagination, clear thinking and energy to be applied to formulate ambitious plans to put Drogheda back into its rightful position as one of Ireland’s premier towns.
Drogheda town centre is no longer the pleasant place it used to be. With the open drug dealing and drinking on the streets, traffic chaos, filth on the footpaths and general anti-social behaviour and of course the vacant shops, who in their right mind would want to go there?
These are difficult things to admit but the sad truth of the matter is that, for whatever reason, be it neglect, indifference or lack of investment, or all of the above, our town is going downhill rapidly but I believe the decline can be stopped if the desire is there and the necessary effort is made.
The councillors don’t have the power to do much on their own but, as a group, they represent one wing of government in this country. If they all work together and come up with a plan then perhaps people in the right places can be made to listen and progress can be made.The mandarins in Dublin are past masters at passing the buck though, so direct action might be called for.
If one councillor makes representations to a government minister or department it doesn’t add up to a hill of beans but if all ten of them appear at the Minister’s office, accompanied by our three TDs and people from such organisations as the Chamber of Commerce, Love Drogheda and others, to argue Drogheda’s case inside and outside the Daíl, then people with the power to change things just might begin to listen.
Vital projects can easily get bogged down for years in planning and bureaucratic red tape – just look at how long it took to get the first section of the Northern Cross route across the line.
But if enough noise is made and we’re all singing the same tune, perhaps we can move forward and badly needed projects such as the regeneration of the town centre and Moneymore Community Centre which should have been built at the same time as the houses some 45 years ago, can be progressed.
I could go on, but I think you get the message!
