Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister accept that the Government has been underfunding local roads? Does he accept that the local road network is in its worst state in many decades as a result of this underfunding? I know that in County Monaghan, I see a local council trying desperately to maintain roads that are in a desperate state. It is carrying out patching works when full resurfacing is required. I am told that the situation is similar in Donegal. Will the Government allocate the necessary funding to allow these local roads to be resurfaced? Will the Government commit not just to some gesture in advance of the local elections but also to a comprehensive allocation that recognises that people in rural communities pay their road tax and their excise in fuel, which the Government keeps increasing, and deserve to be able to drive to work without breaking the suspension or the tyres on their cars?

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