DELAYS of months in fixing faulty streetlights at an island pier could have led to tragedy, according to Cllr Finbarr Harrington.
BY DAVID FORSYTHE
He told a recent meeting of Cork County Council’s Western Division committee that lights had not been working at the pier on Bere island since March. The lights have recently been replaced, The Southern Star has learned.
At the meeting, Cllr Harrington said that he had reported the issue to the contractor Electric Skyline who had marked it as ‘priority’ in May but as of October 21st the lights still had not been fixed.
‘I don’t want to be alarmist but there have been tragedies in the past with people falling from piers in the winter months,’ he said at the time.
Cllr Harrington said that he had contacted Electric Skyline every month since March, sometimes more than once a month to try and get the lights fixed.
‘It’s really just not good enough, waiting seven months to get some lights repaired,’ he added.
Cllr John Michael Foley (FG) said that he had contacted Electric Skyline about lights in Kilbrittain village which had been out of order for more than three weeks. Danny Collins (Ind Ire) said: ‘Before you could report a faulty light and it would be fixed in a week or 10 days, often quicker. Electric Skyline will have to buck up their response speed. We should ask for a meeting with them.’
County mayor Cllr Joe Carroll said the issue was ‘widespread, it’s in every village.’
‘The service has gone way down and it’s about time this contract was questioned. If they can’t meet their obligations, then maybe the contract should be re-advertised. The standard is worse than poor,’ he said.
Cllr Deirdre Kelly (FF) said that lights in Enniskeane had been on the ‘priority’ list for weeks while Cllr Caroline Cronin (FG) said that lights she had reported in the Colla Road in Schull last March were only fixed by Electric Skyline recently.
Cllr Marie O’Sullivan (FG) said it had taken 18 months to fix a light in Kinsale because there was ‘no joined-up thinking’ between Electric Skyline and the ESB, who owned the pole. Cllr Ann Bambury (SD) said that there were issues in Bandon as well as Kilbrittain and added that it was difficult to report a fault on the Electric Skyline website.
West Cork divisional manager William Lynch said that he would relay the councillors’ concerns to the director of the roads directorate who was due to report to them at a future meeting.
