A Laois County Councillor couldn’t disguise his frustration and anger with Uisce Eireann, over their refusal to provide improved sewerage infrastructure in his local village.
Cllr PJ Kelly, speaking at today’s meeting of Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District in Laois County Council, lashed out at at a response from the council saying “Uisce Eireann do not have plans to provide sewerage infrastructure in Ballybrittas” in response to an update he had sought.
Cllr Kelly said he and his predecessors have been campaigning on this for nearly half a century – but this is the first time they’ve been definitely turned down.
“This is where I’m fairly vexed,” said Cllr Kelly. “Ballybrittas has been left in the … I won’t say. This has been going on for 46 years.
“I was five years of age when John O’Reilly (a Ballybrittas-based councillor) brought this up. Tom Mulhall (a more recent councillor) was at it for 12 years and I’m at it for two and a half years.
“It’s nothing short of scandalous and I don’t use that word lightly. There was a new estate built 18 years ago and there was a pump station to pump the sewerage from there to Portarlington.
“The 52 or 53 other houses were never connected to that. Ballybrittas has been left as it is. The village is crying out for development.
“It was on the old Dublin-Cork-Limerick road and was once the busiest village in Laois.
“The residents are sick to their teeth of it. It’s a scandal – I could put my fist through the table with vexation.”
Cllr Kelly was supported by his fellow councillors, with Cllr Aidan Mullins rowing in strongly.
“I met with Tom Mulhall there previously and we were given the same old spiel,” said Cllr Kelly.
“I could never understand why the village wasn’t incorporated into that scheme. It’s beyond comprehension why the village was not looked after. We shouldn’t accept it.”
Cllr Ben Brennan, who chairs the district, added that it was “totally unacceptable” and “we have to go back at that again”.
Cllr Kelly said he was inviting his fellow councillors to a meeting of the Ballybrittas-Rath Development Association, of which he chairs.
“We collectively need a plan of action,” added Cllr Mullins.
Cllr Padraig Fleming wondered if the answer from Uisce Eireann was in relation to the recent changes that that company have undergone but added “this problem has to be solved”.
SEE ALSO – Check out more stories from the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District here
