Road will be lifted unless €50k is paid

A local contractor has threatened to remove tarmac from the roads of a Portlaoise housing estate unless he receives almost €50,000 in outstanding fees.

Mr Eugene Lacey, managing director of Eugene Lacey Tarmacadam Ltd, claims he is owed €49,000 for tarmacing the roads and car parks in Garden Village, on the town’s Mountmellick Road. While Laois County Council has called in a bond of €19,500, Mr Lacey has yet to receive a penny.

He said he intends to remove the tarmac from the roads within the next two weeks, unless the county council can resolve the issue.

“It’s true the residents are innocent parties, but I was treated very badly on this.

“If I remove the surface from the roads before the council take it in charge they’ll have to get someone else to re-do it and that will cost them more.”

He initially intended carrying out the work in October, but agreed to a request from the county council to postpone for two weeks. However, he still intends to remove the tarmac.

“It’s an awful lot of money and no one seems to give a hoot,” he said.