CBMD Minutes 25 07 07
Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 7th July 2025 at 2pm in the Council Chamber.
Presiding:
- Councillor Niamh Smyth
Present:
- Councillor John Paul Feeley
- Councillor Brendan Fay
- Councillor Niamh Brady
- Councillor Damien Brady
- Councillor Áine Smith
In Attendance:
- Brendan Jennings, Director of Services, Cavan County Council
- Paul Mulligan, SEE, Cavan Belturbet Municipal District Office
- Pat Gaynor, Senior Executive Engineer, Building Control Department.
- Tom Carty, Executive Engineer, Housing Construction
Also in Attendance:
- Rosaleen Higgins, Assistant Staff Officer, Minute Taker
1. Confirmation of Minutes
To confirm Minutes of Monthly Meeting held on 9th of June 2025
2. Disclosure of Interests.
There were no disclosures of Interest.
Business prescribed by Statute, Standing Orders or Resolutions of the Council
3. Confirmation of Minutes
Cllr Smith proposed minutes of last meeting and Cllr Walsh seconded.
Maters arising from previous meeting- Mr Mulligan confirmed to Cllr Fay that a letter was sent to TII
4. Executive Items
(1) Estates Talking in Charge (Pat Gaynor Senior Executive Engineer):
Mr Gaynor made his presentation in relation to below.
Section 207- Implement public right of way- Proposed by Cllr Smith and Seconded by Cllr Fay
Section 11- Taking in charge- Proposed by Cllr D Brady and Seconded by Cllr Feeley
Bramble Rise, Killynebber, Cavan Moynehall Cavan/Belturbet MD Service roads (not including individual private driveways) within the housing development in the townland of Killynebber
Ashbrooke, Cavan - Cavan/Belturbet MD Service roads (not including individual private driveways) within the housing development in the townland of Moynehall, Burgess Acre & Rosscolgan
Derryoaks, Ballyconnell - Cavan / Belturbet Service roads (not including individual private driveways) within the housing development in the townland of Derryginny
Mr Gaynor announced this was his last meeting as he was retiring at the end of the month and he thanked the councillors for all their cooperation over the years.
All the councillors wished Mr Gaynor the very best of luck in his retirement, saying he was a gentleman to deal with.
(2) Part 8- Tom Carty, Executive Engineer Housing Construction:
Mr Carty made his presentation as below:
Part 8 namely the development of 3 No. dwellings at Aughnaskerry, Cavan
Proposed by Cllr Feeley and Seconded by Cllr Walsh
Development of 7 No. dwellings Kilnavara Lane, Cavan.
Proposed by Cllr Fay and Seconded by Cllr Walsh
“Demolition of 7 No. dwellings (Nos 13-19 St. Brigid’s Terrace inclusive), Development of 20 No. own door residential units split over 2 No Blocks:
Block A is two storey high and consists of 4 No 2 bed apartments, located at ground floor level and 4 No 1 bed Apartments located at the first-floor level. Block B is three storey high and consists of 6 No 2 bed duplex units, located at lower ground and ground floor level and 6 No 1 bed apartments, located at the first-floor level.
Car Parking and Bicycle Parking Provision, Pedestrian Access steps connecting Dublin Road and the LP 6623 (Road at rear of existing St Brigid’s Terrace), Public Lighting, Connection to public sewer, watermain and surface water and Erection of boundary treatments and retaining structures and all associated site works including provision of pedestrian footpath as indicated at Townparks ED, St Brigid’s Terrace, Old Dublin Road, Cavan.“
(3) Road Works Programme update Paul Mulligan
Mr Mulligan presented his report speaking about progress in the Restoration improvement works and surface dressing as seen in table below.
| Road Class | Number Road | Road Name and Location | Source | Description of Works | Percentage Completed |
| R | R-200-3 | Bellavally to Carty’s Bridge / Glangevlin | RI | Road Reconstruction | 80% |
| LS | L-6036-0 | Killynebber | RI | Road Reconstruction | 30% |
| LT | L-60361-0 | Reservoir Road | RI | Road Reconstruction | 30% |
| LS | L-5586-0 | Kilmore Upper / Danesfort (Drumhecknagh Rd) | RI | Road Reconstruction | 30% |
| LT | L-55321-0 | Drumard / Derryniggan, Cavan | RI | Road Reconstruction | 30% |
| LT | L-15121-0 | Drumard Road | RI | Road Reconstruction | 30% |
| LT | L-15122-0 | Drummullan | RI | Road Reconstruction | 30% |
| LS | L-5515-0 | Kilconny-Raheelan, Belturbet (Phase 2) | RI | Road Reconstruction | 20% |
| LP | L-1069-0 | Whitefield Cross to Ardlougher (Phase 1) | RI | Road Reconstruction | 30% |
| LP | L-1029-0 | Corracomera Road (Corlough Church Road) | RI | Road Reconstruction | 80% |
| LP | L-5046-0 | Cloneary | RI | Road Reconstruction | 80% |
| LS | L-50451-0 | Gortaclogher | RI | Road Reconstruction | 80% |
Cllr Smith thanked Mr Mulligan and all the team for the work done in Templeport, very happy locals.
Cllr Fay complimented the work done on the bridge in Templeport and the Yellow Road. He mentioned flooding at Turbet Island, not high enough and floods every winter, can it not be lifted higher?
Cllr Walsh said the pictures in report tell the story and thanked Mr Mulligan.
Cllr D Brady joined with the rest in praising Mr Mulligan and all the outdoor staff in the works done.
Cllr Feeley and Cllr N Brady also thanked Paul. Cllr Feeley mentioned the parapet walls at Cartys Bridge very low, can they be put higher?
Mr Jennings addressed Cllr Fay’s issue with Turbet Island. He said it cannot be raised; it is an environment that will naturally flood. It is designed to flood for environmental reasons. C & E look after this project and Mr Jennings said we will look at it.
Mr Mulligan answered Cllr Feeley, he said he takes his point that the parapet walls are very low, and we will look at it.
Members' Items
1. Safety measures on Keadue Lane (Councillor Smith):
Cllr Smith stated lane used as a rat run, as people are avoiding roundabout at Latt. The speed of vehicles is dangerous morning and evening. It is used a lot near Water Treatment Plant and Greenway. 50km is speed limit but people go faster. Residents in the area are very concerned. There was a Pole knocked and a lady’s home alarm would not work because of it. Cllr Smith asks are speed bumps an option as people are using it as a short cut. Residents have a petition with a lot of signatures in favour of speed bumps.
Cllr Walsh supports the motion; she gets calls on it too. She asks Mr Mulligan was a survey done on it before. She says at school times it is used as a short cut.
Cllr Feeley also said he has brought it up on numerous occasions and asks what can be done.
All councillors support the motion.
Mr Mulligan replies that a survey was done last November and showed no traffic travelling above the speed limit and the amount of traffic is not significant.
Data does not reflect what the residents are saying. He says it is down to driver’s behaviour.
He will request another survey from Road Design.
2. Maintenance of green areas in our towns and villages (Councillor Feeley):
Cllr Feeley said we are reliant on community schemes to do a lot of the maintenance of our towns and villages, for example in Butlerbridge and Blacklion. Cllr Feeley states we are now having difficulty getting new people on the schemes because of high employment rate. He says it is not fair because Villagers are left with a lot of the work. He asks how we can resource this issue, we need to find ways of maintaining our towns and villages. He asks can contractors not do the work.
Cllr Walsh supports the motion; she praised the great work residents do but it is usually left to two or three older residents as younger people do not have the time. Tidy Towns are very active; they are encouraged to take over a small area.
Cllr Fay said it has become a problem. He asks why schemes are being stopped. He stated in Belturbet 6 people over the age of 70 on Tidy Town committee. No 40- or 50-year-olds on it. He said he had to go out himself and cut the grass rather than listen to complaints.
Cllr D Brady supports motion, he lives in Mount Pleasant and himself, and two other people maintain it.
Cllr N Brady also supports the motion, and she is very impressed with the Tidy Towns in Cavan Town.
Mr Jennings responded. He said they were all valid points. He says all rural Ireland is losing out because of loss of CES schemes.
The issue is budget. We must be strict on how to manage our budgets. Road budget is for roads. A dedicated budget is needed for maintaining our villages
Cllr Fay said we have written to the Minister, but he has washed his hands off it. Schemes are going to end. Cllr Fay says in Belturbet they have machines and mowers but need people to operate them.
Mr Mulligan replies that we do more with green areas than any other district.
We do have a contract with Kingfisher but where to stop and where do we start? It comes out of our own resources budget. We employ a contractor full-time to sweep, and it comes out of our OR budget.
At one stage in Killeshandra people would not move their cars to get sweeping done. What we want for our towns and villages is the bigger question and goes beyond our remit in the Municipal District.
Finally, Cllr Feeley responded by saying there is a great number of people of all ages in Tidy Towns. He stated we need to step up as a council and do it.
Cllr Fay asked what our policy on “spraying” is. Mr Mulligan replied that it is limited.
3. Traffic calming measures on the Ballinamore road Ballyconnell (Councillor D Brady):
Cllr D Brady said the traffic is speeding from the bottle banks into the corner as the surface is good. There are several entrances on the road. A young man in a wheelchair uses the road and no footpath on left hand side. We need traffic calming measures like a flashing light to slow traffic. And the hedges cut on this road. He is getting lots of calls on it.
All councillors support the motion.
Mr Mulligan responds by saying all the points are well made. Measures were made to improve the junction back through the years. We are getting a fund for managing traffic and we will bring it to the Council. Referring to the lad in the wheelchair he said they houses at Derrginney should not be there. It is not a simple fix. There is a pinch point at the Post Office. We will raise it.
As for the hedges, the landowner is deceased, but he is still coming up as the landowner. It would cost 8 or 9 thousand to cut the hedges. Can we take this out of our budget and not get it back. It would set a precedent.
Cllr D Brady said it is a safety issue now.
Cllr Fay asked is there any follow up to hedge cutting notices, when people do not cut their hedges.
Mr Jennings said we would have to take the legal route to get the hedges cut and would cost a lot. It is beyond Mr Mulligans remit.
Mr Mulligan said they are not our trees to cut.
Cllr Smith asks does public safety not override this.
4. Safety Measures at Fairgreen, St. Mary Boys school and St Bricins College (Councillor D Brady):
Cllr D Brady said he met with the two principals of the school. They said there was a few near misses with children stepping out between two ramps. Cars are speeding up between the ramps. What can we do about speed and getting drivers to slow down. There are three schools in the area. Is a designated crossing an option he asks.
Cllr Fay supports the motion; he spoke to Mr Mulligan about this issue several times. Driver’s behavior is cruel, he says. He has two sons at school in the area. A traffic management plan is needed.
Mr Mulligan replies the ramps are there. Down to driver’s behaviour speeding between ramps. We will look at a designated crossing option. Parking is a problem there. Before we think of a crossing we need to get the cars out of the area. Problem is they are not breaking the speed limit, but they are not driving appropriately.
5. CCTV Cameras (Councillor Walsh):
Cllr Walsh asked about the cameras in Cavan Town, are they working, can we use the cameras for communities. Cllr Walsh said open drug dealing going on and cameras would be a deterrent. She said we need to be doing something and stated there was no JPC meeting in ages. She asked are the cameras in Bridge Street were connected to the guards.
Cllr A Smith supports the motion and asks why cameras are not put up.
Cllr Fay said JPC is null and void, they do not want councillors involved.
Asked about writing to the Gardai Commissioner about CCTV and minister of Justice.
Cllr Brady brought it up 15 years ago, drug dealing is ripe. Supports the motion.
Mr Jennings responded that JPC is gone. There is now a Community Safety Partnership Process and there are councillors involved in it. A Community Safety staff needs to be appointed. New guidelines are ongoing. We have CCTV but Data Controller is the problem. In council buildings it is us, but on the Streets the Data Controller should be the guards. Money needs to be spent on cameras and finished by saying the process of retracting information is expensive.
6. Safety measures on our roads (Councillor Walsh):
Cllr Walsh said there is going to be a new development in the Swellen area, and there are no footpaths for buggies and cycling. The traffic on Farnham Road and Barrack Hill is bad now but what will it be like with new developments she says.
Mr Mulligan replied that it is a difficult one, he has issues with developments at Swellan and Kilnavara. We can ask for planning contributions from Developers. People are looking for homes. We are looking at Swellan Area and access at McMahons funeral home. He says in the current climate, can we stop development.
Cllr Walsh said housing is needed. 162 families for houses, but what about safety measures.
Mr Jennings replied that we need houses, and we need roads. Another link needed in Swellan. There is a Transport Study for Cavan happening soon. We need to find solutions. We will put plans in place for Swellan.
7. A need for more taxi ranks in Cavan (Councillor N Brady):
Cllr N Brady stated that there is a need for more taxi ranks in Cavan Town. Public are always looking around for Taxis.
Cllr Walsh said two Taxi offices are closed in Cavan Town because they cannot get drivers.
Mr Mulligan replied that we will order signs for Rank outside Tescos. We are looking at the By Laws at the minute.
8. E-scooters (Councillor N Brady):
Cllr Brady said she have received a lot of complaints about E-scooters driving up and down footpaths.
All councillors support motion. Cllr D Brady said there were three serious accidents in Ballyconnell.
Mr Jennings said a National Campaign is needed. The law is clear; they are not allowed on footpaths.
Cllr N Brady asked can we not put up signs.
Mr Mulligan said we cannot clutter up footpaths with signs.
Mr Jennings said we would talk to the Road Safety Officer.
AOB
Cllr D Brady brought up the issue of Vandalism in Workhouse in Bawnboy. He asked Mr Mulligan if we could seal it up.
Cllr Smith also got reps on this. A lot of work was done on the Workhouse, and it is frustrating to see the vandalism. It needs to be secured. A lot of people are deeply upset.
Date for next meeting is set for 15 September in Killeshandra at 2.30 pm.