About Us
The Bypass Slane Campaign was set up in 2009 in the aftermath of a multi-vehicle pile-up in the centre of Slane village.
The group set about an intensive round of lobbying, including a Presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport. After years of repeated broken promises for a Bypass of Slane, and several decades spent by the responsible authorities effectively ignoring the serious road safety hazard in the village, an Oral Hearing was finally held in early 2011 to adjudicate on a proposed bypass. At the Hearing, numerous local organisations, described the intolerable situation living in a village besieged by traffic, with the daily threat of road accidents.
In March 2012, An Bord Pleanala chose to ignore their own Inspector’s recommendation to seek further information in relation to the Slane Bypass and rejected the application. They stated the development “would be acceptable only where it has been demonstrated that no appropriate alternative is available”. The Slane community were shocked and outraged by this decision.
In December 2013, a local pensioner lost his life when he was hit by a truck as he negotiated traffic while attempting to cross the road in Slane village. His tragic death brought to 23 the number of lives claimed by this most treacherous stretch of road. Traffic accidents in and around the village continue to occur on a regular basis. Large trucks routinely become ‘stuck’ on the narrow roads as they negotiate turning their vehicles in the centre of Slane, resulting in traffic gridlock. These incidents go largely unreported in the national media.
The Bypass Slane campaign group strongly believe that there has been a serious failure to protect the Slane community and that more unnecessary loss of life seems inevitable. We have continued to push for a bypass of the village since the project was refused in 2012 and over the intervening years we have met with former Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, former Minister for Transport and former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, current Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, Government Ministers, TDs, County Councillors and Officials from Meath County Council.
Since refusal in 2012, a number of traffic reports have been compiled in an attempt to identify a traffic management system to address the issues at Slane. These reports examined, among other measures, the introduction of a HGV ban in the village. A truck ban had been proposed by objectors to the Slane Bypass during the Oral Hearing in 2011. However, all reports consistently failed to produce a viable alternative to a bypass. Indeed, we remain strongly convinced that the only lasting solution to the problems in Slane is to build an appropriate bypass.
We are pleased that a new application is currently being prepared by Meath County Council.
