An attempt by councillors to force the South Tipperary county manager to include two extra access roads to Cashel in plans for the town's new bypass failed yesterday.
Four councillors from the Cashel area were unsuccessful with their Section 140 resolution aimed at compelling the manager, Mr Ned O'Connor, to reinstate the two roads which had been included in the original plans.
The council's chairman, Dr Sean McCarthy (FF), warned it was likely Cashel would become a "ghost town" if the two routes from the N8 were not included in plans for the €30 million bypass, due to open in November.
Mr O'Connor said he had sought legal advice and he could not lawfully comply with the resolution as the National Roads Authority (NRA) had not provided funding for the two roads, nor was there money to pay for them in the council's estimates.
He said the NRA had agreed to meet a local delegation in Dublin on June 24th.
Mr Cian O'Carroll, of Cashel Chamber of Trade and Tourism, said all the councillors "have achieved for their troubles is a meeting with some official in the NRA, and a meeting is a long way short of a decision".