Cllr David Jones at the N52 junction where he says the design is making road safety a concern.

Jones highlights 'serious safety concerns' on N52 at St Tola’s NS

Published: Wed 10 Sep 2025, 10:00 AM

Cllr David Jones has written to Westmeath County Council to raise urgent safety concerns regarding the N52 junction at St Tola’s NS, Delvin, particularly during school drop-off times – but at all hours.

He said there has been a series of near-misses involving vehicles coming from all sides of the junction, notably the Mullingar side turning right to the Killucan Road and the school. Pointing out that traffic travels quickly there, he say there is a life-threatening situation for parents and children.

The Sinn Féin councillor says there has been engagement with the council over a number of years, but progress has been hampered by what he describes as “poor design standards from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) for national roads”.

He states that while the council’s hands are tied, it remains his priority to ensure that safety concerns are highlighted.

“The junction is extremely dangerous,” Cllr Jones said. “We’ve seem multiple near-misses this week alone. The speed and layout of the junction put children and their families at unacceptable risk. TII design standards, in my view, are not good enough for this type of national road junction, and I intend to meet with TII in the near future to highlight everyone’s concerns.”

The councillor also offered gratitude to the staff of St Tola’s NS for their ongoing work to expediting safe drop-off practices and thanked all who contacted him with safety suggestions and concerns.

He spoke as a parent who drives theroute in the mornings to drop off his son to the school and as someone who has seen both accidents and near misses at the junction.

“I will continue to advocate and work on this issue until a constructive resolution is found. My aim is to secure safer junction arrangements that protects motorist and children and the wider community during peak times and throughout the day,” he added.

Cllr Jones acknowledged the importance of collaboration with all stakeholders, including parents, Westmeath County Council, and TII.