If you can’t convince them, confuse them is an old political saying which has been attributed to former US president Harry S Truman.
It highlights a strategy of creating obfuscation and distracting someone with information which they did not necessarily need or ask for in a bid to win them over and divert them from their original aims.
The phrase refers to a tactic to derail arguments where the goal is to make it impossible for the other person to form a solid argument against you.
That old maxim came to mind when I read this week that the Government is considering restoring a town council for Drogheda sometime in the coming months.
No one asked for a town council, what Drogheda clearly needs is city status and a local administration to run it.
The formulation of a town council would be a backwards step as it would more or less rule out the chance of Drogheda ever becoming a city which is clearly the Government’s intention.
You have a local council now, what are you complaining about will be the argument put forward by central government whenever there are calls for Drogheda to become a city.
Such a move would also not resolve the situation of having a good part of Drogheda in Co Meath, unless of course these areas came under the control of the proposed town council, which is extremely unlikely.
This proposal amounts to nothing more than kicking the can down the road in the hope that the clamour for city status will subside.
As it stands the country’s largest town by population is administered by Louth County Council in Dundalk while entire suburbs and much of the Drogheda’s hinterland south of the Boyne is controlled by Meath County Council in Navan.
A publication by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland in 2024, entitled Irish Cities in Crisis drew attention to the crazy situation where a part of Drogheda is in East Meath.
It states: Could a properly considered urban plan for Drogheda-BLM be developed as a matter of urgency, to enable it to become the first compact, sustainable city within the Dublin-Belfast Corridor, an exemplar for future Irish urban development rather than its current status as a monument to Ireland’s continuing urban sprawl. Not if the Government has its way.
The Institute also predicts the population of Drogheda East Meath will grow to 165,000 people by 2070 and become the second biggest urban area in Ireland East.
This is an intolerable situation which will not be addressed even if a new town council is set up and this farce will continue into the future as there are no plans for Meath County Council to relinquish control of these Drogheda suburbs.
Put it another way, there’s as much chance of that happening as there is of the M1 toll at Donore, otherwise known as the Drogheda Tax and originally to be placed in Dundalk, being removed.
The Drogheda City Status Group has done great work down the years and I doubt very much if they will be satisfied with a town council as it could undermine their efforts in the long term.
Southgate parking plans scrapped after public backlash
I’M delighted to see that the management of South Gate Shopping Centre has scrapped plans to introduce pay parking plans.
While it was only going to be a €1 charge from April 1 it didn’t go down well with the public in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
But they haven’t entirely gone away as the management state they have been “postponed” but the fact that they have shows that if there is enough outrage big business takes notice.
Plans for public toilets in Drogheda welcomed
IMAGINE a city of close to 50,000 souls and not a single public toilet. Actually you don’t have to imagine, it’s Drogheda.
But that could all change as there are plans for not one, but three toilets to be placed in a redeveloped St Dominic’s Park.
There had been complaints that children playing in the playground had to go to the toilet in the open because of the lack of facilities.
Over 2,000 years ago the citizens of Rome could spend a penny in one of the many public latrines dotted around the city. After two millennia it’s good to see Drogheda catching up.
Funding boost for venues but rising costs keep crowds away
LOUTH County Council is encouraging music and comedy venues in the area to apply for a new €1 million national scheme to support Ireland’s grassroots venues.
The Night-Time Economy Grassroots Venue Support Scheme was launched last week by Minister Patrick O’Donovan and it is aimed at helping venues stage live events.
Minister O’Donovan would want to make another €1 million available for punters to spend because it’s getting to the stage where no one can now afford to go out because of the soaring price of drink and food.
I spoke to a couple of lads who sent out for a meal and a few drinks last week and the restaurant bill came to nearly €200.
Two nights out like that would pay for a cheap holiday in Spain, and that’s why gigs are often staged in half-empty venues.
