Calls to use beach sand misplaced as grit plentiful, say departments

ROAD TREATMENT:CALLS FOR Minister for the Environment John Gormley to allow local authorities to extract sand from beaches are misplaced, as the State already has an abundance of such grit, Government sources said yesterday.

Sources at the departments of Transport and Environment said there had been a misconception that there was a shortage of grit, when in fact the shortage was only in relation to rock salt.

Rock salt, or rough mined salt, is mixed with crushed stone for use on roads. It provides a double benefit in that the salt melts the ice, while the crushed stone provides traction. This is the preferred source of grit for most local authorities, and rock salt is mainly imported from salt dealers abroad.

However, the State also has an abundance of quarries and sandpits from which crushed-stone grit is sourced. This is the “old fashioned” method of gritting roads, according to the sources.

The National Roads Authority said a total of 18,500 tonnes of rock salt would be imported over the week to Monday 11th.

This included 4,000 tonnes which arrived in Cork on Monday and are being unloaded. A further 4,000 tonnes are due at Kennedy Quay in Cork today. An estimated 3,000 tonnes of salt will be imported from Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland this week.

Some 3,000 tonnes of salt arrived in Limerick in recent days. A further 3,500 tonnes are due there tomorrow. A further shipment is due next week. An NRA spokesman said the salt would be going to “every county”.

Yesterday, Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh called on Mr Gormley to use his powers under the Foreshore Act to allow local authorities take sand from beaches for the roads.

The department said the Minister’s powers under the Act are not in force until January 14th, but that quarries had sufficient supplies of sand and crushed stone.