When a certain government minister some years ago decided to abolish the local Urban Town Councils, he did a terrible disservice to small towns.

Then he went off to a job in Brussels and left us to fight amongst ourselves to survive in bigger local authority areas.

It means competing with other towns for the support available and, where there is outnumbered representation, the pot is empty and some lose out.

Youghal is one such neglected town, with little support. It is at the fringe of County Cork and for bad measure it is Y for Youghal - so that when the money is being distributed, it is last on the list and the pot is empty!

Permit me to take you on a quick walk through Youghal town to prove my point.

Coming from the Cork direction - we first encounter the former Seafield Fabrics building - a tribute to Willie Dwyer of Cork city, but now looking very forlorn.

A little further on is the start of the greenway that runs as far as Midleton. This is a white-elephant and only suitable for runners and cyclists. A far better option would have been to restore the railway line along that land corridor. Comparisons were made with the Waterford greenway - but there are none. From Dungarvan to Waterford you have high terrain with views of the sea, plus a long........

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