MORE than a million euro has been "stolen" from the Stranorlar Electoral Area (SEA) roadworks fund, it has been claimed.

Councillor J.J. Reid made the claim at Wednesday's SEA meeting after it emerged there was a one million euro shortfall in their roads allocation for 2007.

"Over a million euro has simply disappeared from the Stranorlar Electoral Area roads fund," Cllr Reid fumed.

"We were due to receive one million from the NRA to approach the main roads into Ballybofey and Stranorlar. However, the money has been stolen by another electoral area".

Cllr Reid said the meeting was told by Mr Brendan O'Donnell, of the NRDO office in Donegal Town, that the money had been spent "elsewhere".

"We only found this out by accident," Cllr Reid said.

"Brendan O'Donnell told us that they had not time to put together a roadworks programme. Half a million was to be spent on the road from Ballybofey to McGrory's Brae on the Donegal Road and the other half was to be spent on the Lifford road out of Stranorlar. We were told the money was spent elsewhere".

Cllr Reid also claimed ¤300,000 was also missing from the Local Improvements Scheme fund which allocates money to owners of private roads.

"We don't know where that went to either, we have been given no explanation whatsoever," he concluded.

A spokesperson for the council could not be contacted at the time of going to press.