Plans On South Roscommon Must Be Fought “Tooth And Nail”

Once again I want to raise awareness of people of the serious nature of the proposal to annex part of South County Roscommon into Westmeath. The Save Roscommon Group have organised a public meeting on the matter for January the 11th.
Some of the implications for County Roscommon, if this proposal goes ahead, are very serious. For instance, County Roscommon will lose one third of its business rates and as a result people throughout Roscommon will face higher taxes and charges. South Roscommon’s sporting and social clubs will be dramatically weakened. The population of Roscommon will be reduced by some 7,000 people as a result of this proposal. The further economic growth capacity of Monksland and the general area will be lost.
Up to now Roscommon taxpayers have supported the growth of this area and now they are reaping the benefits of investment, the Government wants to steal the fruits of their labour. Remember too that religious and other allegiances would change from Connacht to Leinster and most importantly south Roscommon would be a community divided. This simply cannot be allowed to happen and I and other public representatives will fight this proposal tooth and nail and I am warning Minister Kelly and the Government that this will be a major election issue in 2016. I am also supportive of establishing Monksland as a major town in County Roscommon in it’s own right. It is the most populated area in the county and it deserves town status and I will be supporting that suggestion.