NRA 'refusing" to meet on Kells road issues

Dear Sir - Jimmy Rafter is perfectly entitled to his opinion of Kells town councillors. We"re nine grown men whose unflinching focus lies on the development of our towns and its North Meath hinterland. My criticism of the NRA was that they were refusing to meet with Kells Town Council to discuss major investment which is so badly needed in the NRA Roads which run through our town. We are very concerned about future funding for these roads post M3 and this is the reason for our call on them to meet with us. Mr Rafter seems to be confusing our call with the subject of the tolls. The entire county will benefit from the M3 opening. Clearly the towns located nearer the city stand to gain most. North Meath trails behind the rest of the county for decades in attracting inward investment, especially manufacturing and services jobs. Our response? Some years ago this council rezoned its farmland at Loyd: today Loyd Business Park is home to close on 1,000 jobs. Oldcastle, which will also greatly benefit from an earlier M3 opening, remains the shining example of local entrepreneurism for the North East. But all of the North Meath businesses suffer from the Kells traffic jams of both N3 and N52 at present. That means added costs, only discouraging inward investment. That was what led to my call for an earlier M3 opening and the unanimous support of my colleagues for an urgent meeting with the NRA. Yours , Councillor Bryan Reilly, Kells Town Council, Meath County Council.