'Scandal' that €200,000 unspent Mayo local roads money was returned to State

FUNDING to the tune of €200,000, earmarked for local roads in the Castlebar area, has been returned after not being spent.

The unspent Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) monies in the Castlebar Municipal District (MD) should not have been returned to State coffers but used elsewhere in the county, a west Mayo councillor has hit out.

Citing an amount of €200,000, Councillor Johnny O'Malley told a Westport-Belmullet MD meeting this week that it was 'a scandal' that money was sent back and there should be enquiries as to why it happened.

If they didn't want it in Castlebar, spend it in other areas, he suggested.

As it is, the scheme is 'a disaster', said Councillor Gerry Coyle, with limited funding, so to think that money went back was 'beyond belief'.

The point was made at the meeting that LIS is allocated to the county, not specific MDs, and if not spent in one it should be spent in another, with councillors having long lists of roads looking for funding.

Councillor Coyle said where things don't work out with a road, another should be lined up ready to go, and questions have to be asked as to how this happened.

The situation was 'scandalous', said Councillor Sean Carey, who has 'a list as long as my arm' of roads to be done.

Meanwhile, the potential of the full allocation of €1.2 million for the Foxhall road project in south Mayo also going unspent was raised by Councillor Peter Flynn, who said the route is used by many people travelling from the west of the county.

They needed answers about this and the LIS funding from the director of services, he stated.

The issue is expected to be raised when Castlebar MD councillors hold their monthly meeting this afternoon.