Over 1,000 people turned out in the Midlands this week to express their concern at the disruption which will be caused to their lives by road developments in their areas.
In Tubber, Co Offaly, over 300 people attended a public meeting to express their concern that the new super-highway, the N6, will split their area in two and create huge fragmentation in the community.
The villagers discovered the problem only when the plans for the new road were put on display. This prompted a spontaneous meeting on Monday night last when an action committee was formed.
The members pledged to fight the plan, which they believe will turn their community into a backwater, divided by a dual carriageway.
They fear they will be living in a cul de sac, cut off from the rest of the county and having to make detours of up to three miles to get to Mass.
A committee of 15 people was chosen to fight the plan. They include six local representatives and they are pressing for a meeting with the National Roads Authority to seek to have the route amended.
A local councillor, Mr Tommy McKeigue, said a submission was being prepared in which the community will outline its objections for the National Roads Authority.
These include difficulty in getting access to the village, the local schools, the cemetery, the church and the GAA grounds. He said that the community would have to go to battle on the issue.
They want a fly-over or an underpass built on what will become the main Dublin/Galway road in six years' time.
In Kilbeggan, Miltownpass and Rochfortbridge, there were similar meetings of people concerned about the impact of the road on their communities. They too are seeking meetings with the NRA.
In attendance at the meeting in Tubber were concerned residents from Kinnegad and the other villages. They claimed that the road would disrupt the lives of 300 property owners along the projected route.
They are pressing for it to be driven through bogland, away from the villages, so that there would be minimal disruption to the communities in the area.
They were told that the best method of opposing the projected route would be to provide a study at a cost of £15,000 on the viability of running the road through the bogs. A subcommittee is already working on the possibility of raising this money.
Submissions on the proposed route are due at the National Roads Authority offices on the 14th of this month, but the local people are hoping that this date can be extended if they enter into dialogue now.
In Laois similar fears were expressed by residents of Ballicolla, Clough, Aghaboe and Cullahill, where an action committee has been set up to seek changes to the route of the N8 to Cork and the N7 to Limerick.
They fear that the roads will divide communities, cut the county effectively in half, and put pressure on land in the area.