Infrastructural problems have beset Ireland for many years — decades, in some cases.
For instance, there was good news lately for residents in the Lehenaghmore section of Cork city with the announcement of a road and pedestrian safety project after it had stalled for two years.
Two years is a lengthy delay, but local councillors have pointed out that some residents have been living without footpaths for 20 years — with parts of the neighbourhood
effectively accessible by car only.
The news was not as good in another part of the county, with local representatives angered by Transport Infrastructure Ireland withdrawing funds to improve roads in North Cork. One of the roads in question, the N72, has not been tarred properly in 30 years, according to local sources.
There are details here worth examining more closely.
In the case of the N72 works, for instance, county councillors were told that Transport Infrastructure Ireland does not have enough funding to carry projects it had promised to finance, which seems a striking admission for any public body.
Lehenaghmore, meanwhile, only came under the jurisdiction of Cork City Council following the boundary extension five years ago, which may not have helped to progress the works in question.
A good road network is hugely important, given the greater mobility and flexibility of our citizens when it comes to work, for instance. Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for industry is also bolstered by our connectivity.
Conversely, poor infrastructure can have an outsized impact across the board. The cases above cite danger to pedestrians and damage to vehicles as the results of substandard roads, but are we also looking at roads contributing to fractured communities?
The Retirement Planning Council of Ireland pointed out this week that the growth of commuter towns is making it
difficult for people to make and maintain social connections when they live and work in different communities.
Lengthy commutes make it harder for people to establish connections in dormitory towns, which may lead to isolation in retirement.
Difficult daily commutes and eventual loneliness in retirement seem equally gloomy prospects. Tarring roads and building footpaths may not be an obvious way to facilitate
social cohesion, but infrastructure should be considered in the broadest context possible.
Prison overcrowding highlights drug issue
Grim news emerged from Portlaoise Prison this week as 11 people were taken to the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise following suspected drug overdoses at the prison.
The Irish Prison Service confirmed yesterday afternoon that six prisoners had returned to prison after being released from hospital.
Three of the remaining five were responding to treatment in the intensive care unit, while the last two patients were in a stable condition.
Investigations into the cause of the overdoses are continuing. However, three weeks ago, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) issued an urgent drug alert following detection of nitazene in the case of a fatal prison overdose.
Nitazene is a powerful synthetic opioid which was linked to overdoses in Dublin and Cork late last year.
If there is nitazene in the prison system, then the authorities must move swiftly, and it is encouraging to see that the IPS has has secured extra naloxone kits if clinical intervention is needed. These overdoses have not occurred in a vacuum and can be related to conditions in the prison service generally, and overcrowding in particular.
A spokesperson for the Irish Penal Reform Trust said that, at one point this week, capacity was 5,017 across all Irish prisons, or 112% of capacity. In Portlaoise, the capacity was 107%. The spokesperson added that overcrowding was contributing to the drug problem in our prisons, as prisoners with a pre-existing drug addiction are often unable to get the support needed to deal with those addictions while in prison.
This is the vicious circle of addiction in our prisons, where addicts miss out on treatment and are exposed to ever more dangerous drugs while incarcerated.
While the immediate challenge of drug overdoses must be met, addressing the problem of overcrowding may prove a more durable solution in the medium term.
Raising road safety standards
The announcement of a safety programme to teach transition year students how to drive while creating awareness of unsafe behaviour behind the wheel is a welcome move.
The programme, which is to be rolled out from September, comes in the wake of a shocking death toll on our roads. At the time of writing, a total of 119 people had died on our roads so far this year, 14 more than at the same time last year.
Driving is a fundamental life skill and it makes eminent sense to teach teens how to drive on a number of levels. For instance, it should serve to raise driving standards generally if good habits can be taught to young drivers when they first get behind the wheel. Standardising the approach to driving need not start with young learners, either. Given the quality of road behaviour to be seen every day across the country, is there a case for drivers to be retested every time their driving licences are renewed?
The lazy assumption that younger drivers are more careless than their more mature counterparts might run aground on the results of ‘experienced’ drivers taking such tests.
Given the carnage on our roads, however, we should not rule out any measure which might save lives.