Councillor claims changes to Carrigaline roundabout were not the ones approved by them

The revamp of the Shannonpark roundabout near Carrigaline will be raised in County Hall on Monday following claims the changes were not the ones approved by councillors.

Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath said that he was “very annoyed” by the changes that removed a dedicated slip lane for southbound traffic heading for Ringaskiddy, which he said was a “key beneficial element” of the plan.

Responding to a post on a Carrigaline community Facebook page, the councillor said: “The plan which was approved was not the plan that was implemented. I have already asked several questions about this and I have not received satisfactory answers.” 

Mr McGrath said he would be raising the issue at the first roads meeting of the new Council which will be held on Monday.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr McGrath said he would be asking the roads team to explain to him the benefits of the new plan that was implemented which had significant changes to the plan approved by the councillors.

He said he would also be asking the council to demonstrate the authority they had to allow them to disregard the approved plan in favour of this amended project.

“A key element was removed and we were not informed and the reasons for the changes were never explained,” Mr McGrath said.

The councillor said that following questions from him, he was told that the design standards had changed and the changes were made for safety reasons.

Mr McGrath called the project “a disaster” and “a fiasco.” “The project has been fiasco from start to finish. The information updates we have been receiving have not been accurate. I have been given three start dates for the final resurfacing and road markings work and they have all passed. The latest update is that this work will start next week.” The local councillor who was elected on the first count in the recent local elections, with 4,247 votes, one of the highest totals in the country, said questions have to be answered about this project in terms of how it was managed, the proposed benefits and the reasons for the significant changes.