Following last week’s General Election, Green Party Councillor, Deirdre de Burca, has congratulated the county’s newly-elected TDs, especially those who were elected for the first time. However, she has called on those TDs who will form part of any new Government to prioritise the major issues in County Wicklow.

“It was clear to any of us who were General Election candidates in this election that there are several major issues in the county which need to be addressed as a matter of urgency” she says. “Firstly there is the issue of giving permanent ABA status to the preschool for children with autism in Barnacoyle and fast-forwarding the building of the new school for St Catherine’s Special Needs School on the grounds of Newcastle Hospital. Secondly there is an urgent need to complete the section of the N11 between the Beehive and Arklow, and to upgrade sections of the N81 which is rated as one of the most dangerous roads in Ireland”.

De Burca says that after a 15 year delay in moving ahead with the Arklow Sewage Treatment Plant at the Seabank site, a new brownfield site should be identified in the town and the sewerage works built as a matter of priority. Finally she says that the funding for proper Youth Centres and Youth Cafes across the county must be delivered by any new Government TDs based in Wicklow.

“I believe that this is how Wicklow’s newly elected TDs will be judged at the end of their term in office” she says. “The people of Wicklow have been very clear about what the needs of the county are. They will be able to judge in several year’s time whether the priority issues have been successfully tackled by the representatives they have elected. The county as a whole will benefit if these issues are addressed”.