Big Laois town in a public transport, cycling and e-car chargers no man's land

Graiguecullen received no money for walking or cycling in the latest multi-million euro Government allocation to Laois while the bus service for the fast-growing doesn't serve communities in Laois.

That's according to Aaron Kelly a Sinn Féin local election candidate for the big Graiguecullen/Portarlington Municipal District. He also claims the the town's location beside Carlow means it is missing out on money for public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure.

"Following the recent announcement of the government's €3m Active Travel investment grant in Laois, it was so frustrating to see that Graiguecullen received none of this funding allocation," he said.

Mr Kelly said that despite being the third most populated townsland in Laois, Graigue did not receive any funding under the Active Travel Programme grant. He said there are no cycle lanes or e-chargers available for public use in Graiguecullen at the moment. 

He said he asked Laois / Offaly TD Brian Stanley to submit a parliamentary question to the Minister for Transport on the issue.

"The Minister referred my question to the National Transport Authority for a reply. I received a response today outlining that Graiguecullen has benefitted under the Carlow Graiguecullen Joint Urban Area Plan and this is the reason for not allocating any funding under this scheme in Laois.

"Once again, we have the ongoing issue of Graiguecullen being underfunded by national government funding allocations in Laois due to its proximity to Carlow town. It is completely unacceptable for Graiguecullen to be left in limbo between two counties all of the time. 

"Just last year a local Transport For Ireland bus service was launched in Carlow town and Graiguecullen. However, the route in Graiguecullen caters only to the Carlow side and does not facilitate any of the housing estates on the Laois side of Graiguecullen, known as Graigue Rural, which make up almost three-quarters of the population.

"So now we have a situation where the Carlow Graiguecullen Joint Urban Area Plan didn't provide public transport or active travel funding allocations to Graigue Rural, and Laois funding allocations (under the Active Travel Investment Grant) won't cover it on the assumption that it is already covered under shared schemes with Carlow.

"I am hearing it from everyone on the doors around Graiguecullen while I am out canvassing. To make matters worse, the Department of Transport's underfunding is a national issue, much bigger than Graiguecullen, based on the reply that I received from the NTA. As part of their response to the PQ, they stated that:  

"Given the ramping up of activities over the last few years in the Active Travel area, the number of projects being progressed nationally now exceeds the level of funding made available to the NTA. Accordingly, the NTA is unable to fully fund all proposed Active Travel projects and programmes must be selected and phased in order to remain within its allocated budget," he said.

Mr Kelly said he understands that underfunding of active travel and public transport not only hampers efforts to combat climate change and reduce air pollution but also impacts public health.

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