I was astonished to read on the local media last week that Roscommon County Council have told local taxi drivers that they do not have the funds to provide a taxi rank at Roscommon Railway Station. This is an issue that I have worked on for the past 18 months and I have correspondence from Roscommon County Council stating that they were happy to carry out this work and I have had a number of very positive meetings with Iranrod Eireann who are more than happy to facilitate a taxi rank at Roscommon Station.
This is not a project that is going to cost a lot of money. Iranrod Eireann have given the ground for the rank, all the council have to do is put down some road markings and erect a sign which will certainly break the bank.I cannot understand why the council are dragging their feet on this matter. I will, once again be contacting the council to see what the situation is. Do we want to attract people to our area? We want to be able to offer elderly people who step off the train a taxi rank close to the station. We want to bring Roscommon to a point where tourists and people who may have hospital appointments have access to a taxi rank at the railway station. I am requesting that Roscommon County Council do this job immediately and let’s move on.
Roscommon Railway Station