Locals in Carna in the Conemara Gaeltacht have hit out at public expenditure in a €85,000 grant from the Community Recognition Fund which they say was used to build a bus shelter which is situated in a part of the village where buses cannot turn, rendering it “useless”.
Local woman Meadhbh Ní Ghaora, who is also a bus driver, says that the village, which doesn’t have footpaths, never sought “what seems like a ridiculously expensive bus stop” in that location – and says that the only two buses a day that stop in Carna are still dropping and picking up in the area around the local shop, Tigh Mhóráin, because they are unable to make a turn at the new bus shelter.
She said that she has never seen anyone at the new installation while waiting for bus services – and says that the community wasn’t asked for suggestions or ideas for public expenditure in the village which would have benefitted the locals and created a shared space for both the people of Carna and the Ukrainian families.
Locals think the spend on the bus shelter is “scandalous”, she said, and that it was a “waste of money that no-one asked for” – adding that a breakdown of the spend should be made available.
“Is tiománaí bus mé féin – I’m a bus driver myself,” she said. “That bus shelter is not in a suitable location, which makes it useless, and I’m pretty certain it couldn’t have cost €85,000, so we’d like to know much was spent on the shelter and where did the rest of the money go because we haven’t seen a design for a plaza?”
Gript emailed Galway County Council with questions regarding the spend on the bus shelter, and seeking a response to the criticism of locals on what they see as the unsuitable location, but we have not yet received a response.
The Community Recognition Fund was introduced in 2023 to recognise the huge efforts made by communities in welcoming and supporting Ukrainians and other refugees to Ireland – with €50 million being made available in that year, while a further €50 million was granted in 2024.
“Funding is targeted to invest in those communities where the highest level of new arrivals are living, and where a clear need for investment is identified,” the Department of Rural and Community Development said as the Fund was launched.
The only hotel in Carna – a village in the Conamara Gaeltacht of significant cultural importance – has been used to accommodate Ukrainians for the past three years, on the understanding, locals say, that this would be a temporary arrangement.
Carna was therefore included in the allocation of funds awarded from the Community Recognition Fund in 2023 – with €85,000 earmarked to “design an outdoor plaza” and “install a bus shelter.”
Maedhbh Ní Ghaora says that work on the bus shelter took place in July and August of 2024 in a spot across from Pizza Max but that “nobody knew where it was coming from or what was going on when the work started.”
The wall around the bus shelter was rebuilt around the space required for the installation, but the Carna woman says that she feels locals would have not prioritised a bus shelter in that position if they had been consulted.
“It’s a pattern, things being done to the community rather than with them,” she said. “Why are the people who live here not asked or consulted about what they feel would be a useful addition in recognition of the effort that they have made? There is no local engagement as to what people need, even though its the community that knows best.”
“We were never asked, as far as I know, what the people of Carna would have liked for the village. And given that Ukrainian families had come to live here, how does a bus shelter help build communities or with integration?” she asked. “A sensory garden would be something
She said that facilities were badly needed for the village, and suggested that “swings and slides and a picnic table” in a local public garden might have been a better use of the funds – or a playground as the nearest playground is Cill Chiaráin.
“We don’t even have a footpath here in Carna,” she said.
“There are only two buses that pull up in Carna, Local link and Bus Éireann, but they need to turn the bus so that means they will have to reverse if they stop at the new bus shelter and they aren’t going to do that for lots of reasons including public safety,” she said.
“I’ve never seen anybody using the bus shelter while they wait for the bus, they just stand at Tig Mhoráin. I’ve only seen people using it to sit in for a coffee, and if we had developed the public garden that would be a far nicer and more appropriate facility,” she said. “Instead it was decided for us what the €85,000 should be used for.”
“I drive a bus myself, I can see where its positioned it is wrong place. It’s 50 metres from the turning point. We’d like some answers in regard to the whole thing,” she said.
Local Councillor, Noel Thomas, said that the spend on the bus shelter “doesn’t make sense”, adding that in his opinion “the kind of spend on the Dáil bike shed is happening all over the country”.
He said that a zebra crossing at a playground in Moycullen was costing €50,000, while a community centre in the same area was going to cost €9 million euro.
The Independent Ireland councillor said that only a handful of companies were able to tender for these jobs. “Only a handful meet the criteria because of all the paperwork which seriously limits who can tender,” he said. “But the reality is that less bids, means less value”.
“Of course companies need to meet certain standards and should be qualified etc, but the system is crazy,” he said. “Between knowing how to navigate the system, and the health and safety regulations and insurance , smaller companies can’t apply and bigger companies can name their price,” he said.
Gript asked Galway County Council about the “allocation of €85,000 for a bus shelter and a design for a plaza for Carna from the Community Recognition Fund”.
We asked had the full allocation of €85,000 been spent and if the County Council could provide a breakdown of the spend; if the County Council could tell us how much was spent on the bus shelter, and who was contracted for same?
We also asked if they had a response to local comment that the bus shelter was a ‘waste of money’.
Locals say that there is no sign of the plaza, that the village doesn’t have footpaths, and that the bus shelter is positioned in a part of the village where buses cannot turn.
We have not, as yet, received a response from Galway County Council.
Announcing the Community Recognition Fund, the Department said that: “projects to be funded will be capital in nature and shall deliver medium-long term benefits for the communities in which they are located.”
The minimum level of funding for an individual project is €50,000 with a maximum of €500,000 applying to any single project. Smaller projects cannot be artificially combined to meet the minimum threshold of €50,000,” they added.
The type of projects eligible for funding under the Community Recognition Fund were:
- development, enhancement or refurbishment of community or cultural facilities including play areas, walkways, parks, community/sensory gardens, allotments, and recreational areas
- development, enhancement or refurbishment of local club and sports facilities including facilities such as community swimming pools, changing rooms, toilets, digital aids such as score / information boards etc.;
- enhancement to school/parish facilities which are open to use by all of the community after school hours;
- purchase of equipment for local clubs, festivals, community events and organisations e.g. music, arts or sports equipment;
- transport infrastructure such as the purchase of community vehicles, bus shelters and attendant information boards; (any vehicle funded must be in good condition and not more than 5 years old)
- projects that help address dereliction and/or wider local economic and community development objectives;