A Newtownabbey councillor has clarified problems over Stormont Roads Minister Conor Murphy's call to local authorities to take more responsibility for clearing pavements in the current freezing conditions.

The news comes as the number of people suffering broken bones has risen by 50% during the icy weather in just one area alone.

According to initial figures from Altnagelvin hospital's A&E department in Co Londonderry, about 60 people attended the hospital on Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 November because of falls.

Thirty-eight of them were treated for fractures, twice the usual average.

Following many complaints about the dangerous state of footpaths, the Sinn Fein Executive Minister met with local council representatives on Monday as debate has been raging as to whether it is the remit of his Department of Regional Development (DRD) or local councils to grit footpaths.

Mr Murphy said he had a "constructive" meeting with the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) - who said they have been trying to resolve the issue with DRD for the past ten years.

Mr Murphy said the public would be best served if more councils entered into an agreement with Roads Service, to help keep main footways clear.

"I received a demonstration from Belfast City Council, one of the councils that do clear footpaths, showing how they have adapted their pavement sweepers to allow them to grit snow and grit pavements during times of wintry weather.

"The department will provide councils with salt to undertake this task and while I acknowledge NILGA's concerns about resources, I feel there is scope for some councils to redeploy available manpower from other work, that cannot be completed during the cold spell," he said.

However, Newtownabbey Alliance Councillor Tom Campbell (pictured) has hit out at the comments made by Conor Murphy that councils should take over the gritting of the pavements.

Cllr Campbell said that the issue was not as simple as the Minister was suggesting and that such measures would involve a significant commitment of resources by councils before the proposition could be seriously entertained.

Cllr Campbell, who is a solicitor, said that he had also been concerned at the extent of legal liability that councils could face if they were to take over such works.

"He has referred to an agreement between Government and NILGA, which represents some local authorities but not including Newtownabbey Council, that there would be a legal indemnity available for councils undertaking such work.

"This is an interesting change of direction," he said. "Newtownabbey Council rejected a recent attempt to have the council take over the pavement gritting work.

"We rejected that proposal precisely because the liability in the draft 'heads of agreement' document was the responsibility of the council in the event of a legal claim. Indemnity was not on offer and this was only a few months ago."

Cllr Campbell concluded: "I do hope that there has been a change of heart so that we could at least consider this proposition.

"As a local authority we are aware of the concerns of those we represent at the difficulty in negotiating pavements in the very cold and icy weather we have been experienced but we do not have the resources of central government and there is a concern that this work is being off loaded on to councils without any expectation of assistance towards the cost of providing such a service," he said, on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association, (NIIRTA) is calling for the Department of Regional Development and local councils to put the problems to one side and to make some agreement over who is responsible for gritting footpaths during spells of cold weather.

NIIRTA Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said that people are afraid to hit the high street given the poor conditions for pedestrians: "Retailers pay a considerable amount of rates and expect that action is taken to make footpaths accessible for customers.

"As many people will not want to travel to big out of town stores because of the weather, they rely even more on local neighbourhood shops, particularly older people," he said.

(BMcC/GK)