Locals stumble upon a cover up

Cork County Council has agreed to engage with utility companies regarding a plague of broken manhole covers throughout the county.

The promise came at the request of Cllr Seamus McGrath (FF) who said he has highlighted the issue many times and that getting utility companies to carry out repair work is “extremely difficult”.

At Monday’s County Council meeting, Mr McGrath said the damaged covers pose a serious health and safety risk to pedestrians.

“A lady contacted me recently after taking a very, very nasty fall on the main street of Carrigaline. That happened a month ago and there still has not been a repair carried out,” said the councillor.

He added: “It's an extremely serious issue. All you have to do is walk through any town, village, any settlement in the county, and you will come across several of these damaged utility covers.”

Cllr Gearoid Murphy added that the noise made by damaged manhole covers on roads when driven over is also a major concern for people living near one. “It's not an issue for 99% of the public, but for anyone who's living next to one, to have that going through your head for months and months is a really big issue.”

Substitute Director of Services, Roads Directorate, Ger Barry said the maintenance of manhole covers is the responsibility of utility companies. He said the council will be liaising with the relevant utility companies as well as the Road Management Office (RMO) who have agreed to review the current processes associated with the maintenance and upkeep of manhole covers.