Angry locals living along the new N6 Galway to Ballinasloe road have given a cautious welcome to a promise by the company constructing the motorway that they will set up a new unit to address the complaints of land and homeowners on the route.
A series of public protests by almost 300 people over the course of last Thursday and Friday forced the hand of the parties behind the road, which is due to officially open in early January, following months of discontent.
The protestors – many of whom took time off work to participate – took to blockading ongoing work on the motorway as a last resort to ensure their complaints are heard and addressed by N6 Construction Ltd, N6 Concession Ltd, Galway County Council and the National Roads Authority.
Their issues include hundreds of thousands of euro worth of damage to property and vehicles, the destruction of stone walls, local roads left in a state of disrepair and serious disruption to farm life for a number of landowners.
The protests, which were led by Senator Ciaran Cannon, Cllr Tim Broderick and Cllr Michael ‘Mogie’ Maher began last Thursday afternoon with a blockade of a tarmacadam plant at Cappataggle.
On Friday morning, 150 people again turned out to Cappataggle, amongst them Fianna Fáil TD Frank Fahey and Fine Gael Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames, while a further 100 protestors gathered at Lisheenkyle.
Speaking to the Connacht Tribune, Senator Cannon said representatives from N6 Construction Ltd and N6 Concession Ltd were “genuinely taken aback” at the number of people and the level of anger they encountered amongst the protestors.
“They did not expect the level of discontent that they encountered and they were genuinely surprised and taken aback by the crowd they were faced with, particularly on Friday morning,” he said.
In response to the protest, representatives from both N6 Construction and N6 Concession Ltd and Galway County Council agreed to meet in Cappataggle Community Centre with members of the local community and representatives from the Irish Farmers’ Association.
Following a lengthy discussion over the course of four hours on Friday afternoon it was agreed that a new unit would be established with the specific brief of addressing the problems of local people. The unit will be based at Athenry and will be staff by three full-time engineers and a number of administration staff.
In addition to this, a schedule has been drawn up for weekly meetings between road and local representatives to continue to work through the issues and they have pledged they will ensure every problem is resolved before the road opens if possible.
Senator Cannon yesterday said the feeling amongst locals was one of optimism, but he said they were still on “high alert” and they would be prepared to protest again if the commitment was not honoured.
“It now remains to be seen if they can be trusted to honour the commitment they have made. We will see if the weekly meetings are held and if progress is made, but we are still on high alert and we will be back on the road if people are unhappy,” he said.