Kilduff has 'mixed emotions' as he opts out of South Roscommon council race

Independent South Roscommon councillor Donal Kilduff confirmed last week that he would not be seeking re-election in June.

The Glanduff, Kiltoom, man expressed pride in a number of achievements during his five-year term on the local authority, but he also voiced deep frustration with the pace of progress in addressing longstanding issues in South Roscommon.

The Managing Director of Kilduff Construction, he became a father since his election to the council in 2019. With a second child now on the way, he said the time requirements of his work and family had been a factor in the decision not to run again.

"I am running a busy company and I'm a father now as well, so my time is very precious to me, and limited," Cllr Kilduff told the Westmeath Independent.

"I would happily sacrifice time away from the company if I felt that time was being well-served. Unfortunately, I think (on the council), a lot of the time, it's not."

He pointed to the difficulty in achieving road safety improvements on the N61, between Athlone and Roscommon, as a prime example of his frustration with the political system.

"The number one priority for me was the N61. I campaigned hard on it, and went around the Athlone Municipal District highlighting that I intended to get something done with the N61," he said.

"I got elected, and from there it took three years and three months just to get a meeting with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to discuss the N61.

"That was driving me insane. I was attending municipal meetings and we were discussing the same issues over and over again, because we weren't able to get that meeting. We were sending letter after letter to TII, and they were coming back and fobbing us off."

He said that when a meeting with TII eventually happened, in June 2022, it was a "very good" discussion which resulted in a commitment to assess and fund required safety improvements on the road.

"Immediately after the meeting, a consulting group was commissioned to carry out a strategic review of the road. Then in November 2023, the study was presented to us. It was a good, comprehensive study, but I'm not fully happy with it.

"I feel that if the consultants had been mandated to engage with the local politicians when they were doing that work, the study would have been better.

"The consultants aren't from the area, so they're coming in and doing a strictly technical analysis.

“They're not benefiting from the local stories, the local knowledge and experience. And I think they missed some of the essential issues."

He said the first two 'priority interventions' in the study, which involve road safety works outside St Brigid's GAA Club and St John's Church, were now being advanced to the design phase.

"That will probably take a year, with part 8 planning and public consultation, and then they'll go out to tender and then they'll be built. So those deliverables might be three years away.

"That's eight years, since I got elected, until we have a tangible result.

"The nub of the problem is lack of engagement. It took over three years to get the meeting (with TII), and if the system was right we should have had it in three months."

Cllr Donal Kilduff stressed that he had found the council officials and staff in Roscommon "excellent" to deal with, and they had helped him deliver a number local improvements, particularly in his own parish of Knockcroghery, St John's and Rahara.

However, he said that when it came to addressing big issues like the N61 or the flooding crisis at Lough Funshinagh, the capacity of local councillors to enact change was limited.

"We are elected representatives, elected by the people to do a job, and yet we don't have the powers to do the job," he said.

"I favour a Swiss style of local government. In Switzerland, anything that can be decided on locally is decided on locally. The local authorities have the powers to run their areas.

"In Ireland we don't have the powers to run it, and central government is often too busy to deal with what needs to be dealt with.

“So I don't feel we're well served by the 'top down' approach we have. I think a 'bottom up' approach could serve the country better."

He admitted he had been "torn" about making the decision on whether or not to run again, which was why he only announced it last week.

"On the one hand I've had a very positive experience. I can look around my area and point to lots of things that are delivered that wouldn't have been delivered only for I ran for election.

"But there are a lot of issues my community faces, like the N61 and Lough Funshinagh, that require engagement with national stakeholders. And when it comes to that, you're beating your head off a brick wall," he concluded.