Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The point has been made about the rates base. I come from County Leitrim and I suggest the road network in Leitrim, which has very few national secondary roads, is superb. It amazes me that our road network seems to be of a significantly higher standard than that of many other counties, including those around us. I am curious to know why this inconsistency exists. It cannot just be about the rates base. Does it have to do with the priorities of county managers or engineers? Do county managers speak to each other about what they do?

On a related point, most people from the North take a certain road south through the midlands. I take it regularly. The thought was put into my head when south Tipperary appeared on the screen. The road runs from Athlone to Ferbane and Cloghan, where one cuts off for Borrisokane. It must be the worst road. It was built in Famine times and I doubt that a penny has been spent on it since. Why is there not more consistency between local authorities as regards spinal roads such as this one? They are essential for smooth and efficient transport.

In the context of the councils' overall funding, are they concerned about the standard of our road network? We seem to have reverted to the 1980s, the time of the last economic recession. As those who remember it know, it took 20 years for local authorities to return to where they had been before the 1980s, given the lack of money available for road maintenance. Is the councils' concern being relayed to the Government? Like me, I am sure that our guests do not want to hear that there is no money in the kitty. Money can always be found, particularly for investments of this nature. It is not like investing in a service - it is a question of the country's future. What are our guests' collective opinion in this regard, what lobbying are they doing and how effective have they been in convincing the Government of the requirement to spend more on road maintenance? Otherwise, we will need to rebuild roads, as Deputy Harrington stated. If councils continue to be starved of funding in this regard, we will be back to square one in another 20 years.