Carmel Hayes

4 days ago | laois-nationalist.ie | Carmel Hayes

MOTORISTS are complaining about a local road that was described as “shambolic” at a council meeting. Cllr Conor Bergin said he received regular calls about the state of the L1514 road at Doon, between Borris-in-Ossory and Rathdowney. He said the section of road between the railway bridge and the motorway bridge was particularly bad, as he called for “severe road surface issues” to be resolved. “It is really in a shambolic condition.

4 days ago | laois-nationalist.ie | Carmel Hayes

A DANGEROUS junction outside a Laois village pub was described as “a death trap” at a council meeting. Cllr Ben Brennan made the comment, as he called for urgent road safety works at the junction near The Mall pub in Killeshin. The Independent councillor said there was a recent “near miss” involving a tractor and trailer on the R430 road, which is regularly used by local farmers. He stressed that farmers were not just asking but pleading for safety works at the junction.

4 days ago | laois-nationalist.ie | Carmel Hayes

ALMOST €900,000 was spent on private emergency accommodation for homeless people in Laois last year. A new plan presented in county hall shows that Laois Co Council spent €894,766 on emergency beds, mainly in hotels and B&Bs.The figure prompted one councillor to suggest that the local authority should buy a property for use as a homeless shelter, rather than pay for temporary rooms.

5 days ago | laois-nationalist.ie | Carmel Hayes

WORK on a major road safety scheme costing €675,000 is set to begin this year on Station Road in Portarlington. Footpath upgrades, raised pedestrian crossings, improved paving and lighting, junction tightening and the creation of a School Safety Zone at Presentation Primary School are among the main features of the plan. Laois County Council’s ‘Active Travel Scheme’ for Station Road was highly praised and unanimously approved at the latest meeting of Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District.

5 days ago | laois-nationalist.ie | Carmel Hayes

NO funding is available to let children spend a penny in a village playground, where the nearest toilet facilities are miles away. When a local councillor asked that toilets be provided at the popular playground in Coolrain, a senior county council official replied that no grants are available. However, he said the council would examine the possibility of providing a sewage connection for the Coolrain playground, following an assessment of wastewater network capacity in the area.