A private lane at Gorteens, Donaghmoyne, has been made a public road after a tied vote in the Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District was settled by the casting vote of the district's Cathaoirleach, Cllr Noel Keelan, on Tuesday evening.
The Anglo-Celt reported that the decision was taken at a special one-item meeting in Gate Lodge 1 in Castleblayney on Tuesday, 20 October. Monaghan County Council's executive had strongly advised against the move, but the six elected members were given two weeks to make up their minds on a question that has been argued over for the past two years.
How the vote went
Cllr Paul Gibbons proposed that the lane be declared a public road, and Cllr Colm Carthy seconded the motion. When a show of hands was called, the three Sinn Féin members, Cllrs Gibbons, Carthy and Keelan, voted in favour. Fianna Fáil's Cllr P.J. O'Hanlon and Fine Gael's Cllrs Peter Conlon and Aidan Campbell voted against.
With the meeting tied at three votes each, Cllr Keelan used his casting vote as chair to carry the proposal. Each councillor gave reasons for the way they voted, according to the Anglo-Celt, which said a fuller account of the debate will appear in its print edition next week.
Why the executive was against it
The vote follows a tense October district meeting, also reported by the Anglo-Celt, at which councillors were handed a letter from Chief Executive Robert Burns. He recommended that members do not proceed to declare the lane a public road. Mr Burns warned that once a road is taken in charge, the council becomes legally responsible for maintaining it, and he put the upgrade works at more than €200,000. He also raised the risk of setting a precedent and said a clear county-wide policy on adopting private roads is needed.
At that earlier meeting Cllr O'Hanlon said the total estimated cost in the district co-ordinator's report, including construction works and land acquisition, came to €301,215. He pointed out that the district gets about €2.2 million a year for roads when it needs about €4 million, and asked what difference another four weeks would make.
Why councillors pressed ahead
Supporters of the move argued that declaring a road public is one of the few decisions left in the hands of elected members. Cllr Keelan said the issue had been in the public domain since September 2024, the legal checks had been done, and a public consultation had drawn no submissions. Cllr Carthy described it as "one of the very few reserved functions we have left".
Tommy Moylan of the Association of Irish Local Government had told the district, in correspondence seen by the Anglo-Celt, that councillors can make the declaration even against the Chief Executive's recommendation, provided they show they have considered his concerns. He had suggested the dispute could go to the council's Corporate Policy Group first, and stressed his view was "not legal advice". The October meeting deferred the vote to 20 October so that group could give its views. What, if anything, it said has not been reported.
What the law says
Under Section 11 of the Roads Act 1993, a road authority may declare a road over which a public right of way exists to be a public road, and maintenance then becomes the authority's responsibility. Before doing so it must satisfy itself the road is of general public utility, consider the financial implications, and advertise the proposal for objections. The Act makes the final order a reserved function of councillors.
No timetable for upgrade works on the Gorteens lane has been published, and it is not yet clear where in the district's roads budget the money will come from. Monaghan Brief will follow the story as the full details emerge.
