Road repairs by councillor fail the test of time

Ask not what your county can do for you might be the motto of Kilkenny councillor Mr Dixie Doyle. Concerned about the state of the Carrickmourne road, where he lives near Thomastown, Mr Doyle decided during the 1999 local election campaign that if something needs doing, it's best to do it yourself. He had the road widened and repaired at his own expense.

Even Labour candidate Mr Michael O'Brien, who lost his seat to Mr Doyle in the election, conceded it looked a "lovely job" on completion. The road has not stood the test of time, however, and Mr O'Brien is getting calls from local residents concerned at its deterioration.

Mr Doyle, whose victory as an independent after failing to secure the Fianna Fail nomination earned him the nickname Dixie Healy-Rae, topped the poll in Thomastown after claiming he had been "stabbed in the back" by his former party. His wife Rita told The Irish Times that the timing of the road repair was coincidental.

"We repaired a bit of a road and now we're getting crucified for it," she said. "It did happen at election time but it was done because the road was impassable." The county council verbally approved the works in advance, but the road had fallen into disrepair because Mr Doyle was not allowed dig a drain on a particular stretch, she claimed.

In a statement to The Irish Times, Kilkenny County Council said Mr Doyle was granted permission in May 1999 to clear scrub and remove debris from the roadside to cut the ditch. The works were subsequently examined by the council "and were not considered to be prejudicial to the fabric of the road".

However, the county engineer, Mr Don O'Sullivan, said Mr Doyle may have gone "a step further" than agreed in "putting hardcore on the margins of the road". He had agreed to contribute towards the reinstatement and upgrading of the margin when the council was in a position to do this work.

Mrs Doyle said her husband had beaten Mr O'Brien by "500 votes" - 922 first preferences to 474. The road had "about 10 houses" on it so the repairs had not affected the result.

Mr O'Brien denied, however, that he was motivated by sour grapes in raising the issue. He had remained quiet since the election but expected local councillors to raise it with officials.

This had apparently not happened and in the recent past, when the road deteriorated as a result of bad weather, he had received representations about it from residents.