Anger over 'missing' €200k for Laois village

A SENIOR county council official has agreed to investigate the ‘disappearance’ of €200k, which was granted for a Laois village footpath and cycle lane.

Since the money was promised, the projected cost of the long-awaited path in Timahoe has soared from €200k three years ago to more than €800k now.

The bizarre scenario sparked anger and confusion at a council meeting this week, as outraged councillors demanded to know where the missing €200k went.

Cllr Aisling Moran (Ind) remarked: “I hope it wasn’t to the footpath in Portlaoise that you could land a Boeing 747 on.” 

Councillors were also baffled by a new estimate of €815k for a footpath and cycle lane only about one mile long, leading from Timahoe village to the GAA grounds.

Cllr Paschal McEvoy (FF), who raised the issue, said: “I can’t understand how we got €200k to do a footpath in 2022 and nothing happened. Whether I was told lies – and I don’t want to call anyone a liar – but I don’t know.

“To say now that it will cost €815k is absolutely crazy. I’d say that if you gave the community €200k to do it, they would have it done within a fortnight. I’m getting phone calls on a regular basis and there is a campaign starting out there. They know the money was allocated to Timahoe. Where did the money go?” 

 At the May meeting of Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District, Cllr McEvoy demanded answers, as he recalled that €200k was approved for the much-needed project in 2022 under the ‘Active Travel’ scheme, in response to his proposal.

A native of Timahoe, the Stradbally councillor said he was initially told that the work would start in October 2022. He subsequently got a call saying that this was ‘a mistake’ and work would start the following February. At a council meeting in October 2023, he was told that the Timahoe scheme did not meet the Active Travel criteria.

Cllr McEvoy said there was “a good row” the last time the issue was raised at a council meeting in 2024, when then-director of finance Gerry Murphy said he would “go off to find out” what happened to the €200k. Nothing was heard since.

At this week’s meeting in county hall, Cllr McEvoy said: “I was told twice that it was going ahead and this appeared on the local papers as well, so people read about it.” 

He added that he and local residents wanted to know what happened to the money, as there were all sorts of stories. One fellow told him that he thought the €200k went to the old courthouse upgrade in Borris-in-Ossory.

Cllr McEvoy again proposed that a footpath/bicycle lane be installed from Timahoe village to the GAA grounds. In the course of a lengthy written reply, the National Transport Authority (NTA) and an Active Travel engineer with the county council’s roads department said that €100k was granted in 2022 but the project ‘did not progress within that calendar year’.

The reply stated: ‘Laois County Council has since delivered several footpath schemes and has prepared a preliminary high-level cost estimate for this particular project. The estimated cost is approximately €815k, including VAT. This figure does not account for risk, contingency, or inflation. This cost represents a significant portion of the county’s overall Active Travel allocation.’ 

The reply said the number of projects far exceeded the funding available to the NTA, so certain projects had to be prioritised. However, projects which cannot be advanced in a particular year may be reconsidered for funding in a subsequent year.

Baffled by the response, Cllr McEvoy declared: “If I had got this response five years ago, I would have accepted it but I can’t accept it now. I was told twice that it was going ahead. My recollection is that it was €200k, not €100k. It was reported in the papers.

“This response is an absolute contradiction to what I was told before. To say it’s costing €815k is absolutely crazy. It is about a mile long and it’s not massive work.” 

Cllr McEvoy asked county council acting director of finance Julie Bergin to investigate what happened to the €200k, as he stressed that children were “taking their lives in their hands” trying to go from the village to the GAA grounds on the busy road.

He said: “It’s not fair to the people of Timahoe and the people of rural Laois.” 

He was supported by district cathaoirleach Cllr Aidan Mullins (Ind), who told Cllr McEvoy: “It appears that you were strung along, whether by accident or design. I don’t know whether you were given false information or were not given sufficient information and you shouldn’t be in that position, with the promises that were made.” 

Cllr Vivienne Phelan (FG) declared that councillors had to get answers, while Cllr Aisling Moran said: “It’s not Timahoe’s fault or anyone’s fault, but if the money went somewhere else, we need to know where it went. I hope it wasn’t to the footpath in Portlaoise that you could land a Boeing 747 on, going up to the football pitch.” 

Ms Bergin assured councillors that she would contact the Active Travel section to clarify what happened to the €200k approved for Timahoe.