Blog NOTE: I wasn't re-elected after the June 5th 2009 elections. Please read these pages with that in mind.
About me
I am a County Councillor with Wexford County Council and I represent the people of Central County Wexford. I will use this site to keep you informed of what is happening in this area. Check back every now and then to see what is happening, or leave a relevant comment.
Bunclody Sewerage System
Long months of lobbying of Government Ministers and follow up letters to the Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government are finally paying off for Cllr. Barbara-Anne Murphy as Civil Contractors Ward & Burke started work on Bunclody Sewerage Scheme in Bunclody at the end of January 2009. The old treatment plant has been operating beyond capacity for quite a few years and has been the cause of pollution to the River Slaney at Ryland Road and the River Clody at the rear of Main Street. The new Sewerage Scheme involves in the construction of a new Sewerage Treatment Plant at Ryland, Bunclody (opposite the Cemetery) and extending the existing sewer network with almost five and a half kilometres of new sewers. The new treatment plant will treat the sewerage to an acceptable standard before discharging into the River Slaney. The new scheme will result in the decommissioning of the present system beside the Fire Station, which has been operating beyond capacity for some time. Residents of Bunclody and of Ryland Road in particular, have suffered the foul odours from the plant for a number of years and this new sewerage treatment plant will bring a welcome relief from this misery. The €5.2 million scheme is being undertaken in two separate contracts:
Civil Works
Ward & Burke Construction who commenced construction January 2009 and will finish in October 2009. The work includes the construction of around 5.3 Km of new sewers around Bunclody Town. The construction of the sewers in the streets, including Ryland Road, Irish Street, Wood Road, Mill Road, The Mall and the Carlow Road, will result in significant disruption to motorists and local residents. A traffic management plan will be implemented during the construction period in order to minimise disruption. At present work is limited to compound sites; however, construction work in the streets is programmed to start on 18th March 2009. Traffic disruptions will be announced on AA Roadwatch bulletins, local radio and will appear in local newspapers.
Sewerage Treatment Plant
This contract is expected to be signed in February 2009 with construction starting in March / April 2009. It involves the design, construction and operation of a new treatment plant and pumping station. Construction will be confined to the new sewerage treatment plant site opposite the graveyard at Ryland, Bunclody and the new pumping station at Ryland Road (beside the fire station) both on the N80. The construction period is approx. March / April 2009 to July 2010. Wexford County Council has set up a liaison committee to facilitate the transfer of information from the contractor and site engineering staff to members of the public. The committee, which comprises Cllr. Barbara-Anne Murphy as well as personnel from Wexford County Council, Ward & Burke Construction, resident engineering staff and representatives from the Gardaí, Bunclody Community Council, Bunclody traders and vintners, will meet every fortnight during the construction stage to discuss progress and upcoming works in the town. Ward & Burke Construction in conjunction with Wexford County Council has set up a scheme helpline to answer queries regarding the sewerage scheme - this phone no. is 086-041 9941. While aware that significant disruption to local residents, businesses and motorists is inevitable during the construction period, Cllr. Murphy believes that when completed the new Sewerage Scheme will be beneficial to the future development of Bunclody Town and to the improvement in water quality in the Clody and Slaney Rivers.
More Gardaí for Bunclody
We all like to feel safe in our own homes. In fact most people do. Yet for a growing number of people whose homes have been broken into by burglars, home no longer feels like the safe haven it should be. In recent times the general Bunclody area has once again been singled out as a 'soft target' by criminals intent on breaking into homes and business premises. The fact the Bunclody Garda sub-district is not manned twenty-four / seven by Gardaí is not lost on the criminal fraternity. The high incidence of 'headline crime' over a ten day period in summer 2008 and again in December 2008 where business premises were targeted underlined the vulnerability of the area to this type of crime. The fact that in one of these incidents an employee was severely beaten by the criminal gang only adds to the general feeling of helplessness in the area. Over the last few years I have held a number of Public Meetings in Bunclody to address this unacceptable situation. At these meetings I called on the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner to give more resources to Bunclody. Following on from the Public Meetings, I met with former Wicklow / Wexford Garda Division Chief Superintendent Michael Murphy. I successfully lobbied the Chief Superintendent to include the entire town of Bunclody in the Wexford Garda Division following the redrawing of Garda Divisions along county bounds in June 2008. Further meetings with Wexford Garda Division Chief Superintendent John Roche and Gorey Superintendent Catherine Kehoe to state the case for an increased Garda presence in Bunclody have been successful The numbers of Gardaí in Bunclody is increasing for the first time in many years. We now have two Sergeants and six Gardaí stationed in Bunclody Garda Station. More Gardaí are needed to give the sub-district 24 / 7 Garda cover. I will continue to fight for increased Garda numbers in Bunclody. It is also a priority of mine to have Bunclody Garda sub-district moved from the Gorey Garda District to the Enniscorthy Garda District. Response times from Enniscorthy a mere 12 miles away are much faster than from Gorey which is 20 miles from Bunclody town. Bunclody is also geographically aligned with Enniscorthy than Gorey so I will continue to fight for this. If you wish to sign the on-line petition please click here.
Petition
We call on the Garda Commissioner to move the Bunclody sub-district from the Gorey Garda District to the Enniscorthy Garda District as would make sense both geographically and from Garda response times. Response times from Enniscorthy a mere 12 miles away are much faster than from Gorey which is 20 miles from Bunclody town.