Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I take the point. As the Senator knows, I know west Cork well. I have roots in the area. I am aware of the great benefit that comes from taking traffic out of the centres of towns. One might say west Cork, more than any other area, has benefited from its towns. The character of a town like Clonakilty, Bandon, Bantry, Skibbereen or Dunmanway is its great strength, so I fully agree towns should not be swamped with traffic.

There is a myriad of demands. We have increased demands because of the increasing effects of climate change. The Senator, more than anyone else, and the people of Midleton and Glanmire will know the implications in this regard. We are committed to providing Cork County Council with all the resources it needs to restore roads damaged by floods and improve protection measures. Last year's allocation to Cork for the local road network was €83 million, which I believe represented an increase of over €11 million on the allocation for the previous year. The Senator is absolutely right that Cork has a very dense network of local roads and that it is the largest county, but the allocation is made on a scientific basis and does not disfavour any one county. Where a county is hit by climate events, as Cork was last year, it is a case of ensuring that we support it. We will continue to do that.