“Allow council take sand from beaches” – Mc Hugh

Fine Gael is calling on the government to sign an order allowing Donegal County Council remove sand from beaches to grit and salt frozen roads.
The council’s salt stocks are low and as a result it didn’t salt any roads last night, concentrating instead on gritting the roads. The authority carried out a limited salting of priority routes this morning.
In the past, the council could have taken beach sand to treat roads but new foreshore legislation passed by the Dáil in December means that only the Enviroment Minister can permit that.
Deputy Joe McHugh has written to John Gormley asking him to make such a decree.
Meanwhile, the Irish Farmers Association has described the response of local authorities to the recent cold snap as totally inadequate.
The IFA says farmers should be contracted to grit roads in rural areas if local authorities can’t do it.