Mr. Barry Lynch:

Our experience in terms of engagement on the spatial strategy would be similar to that in Cavan. There has not been a whole lot of engagement. The points about underfunding and the requirement for investment have been very well made by others. The submission we made to the committee was drawn from an OECD study of north Meath and highlights the main issues very well. Many of the problems will only be solved by investment.

To refer back to roads, Meath, like every other county, has suffered a very significant reduction in funding in recent years. We are now getting approximately €12 million per year for local and regional roads but all that will do is maintain the roads in their current state. At a top level, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport appears not to have enough money to maintain the road network to the required standard, and with the current financial constraints, it will be 2020 before adequate funding will be available. Kells has a particular difficulty because it has one third of the roads in the county, that is, 1,100 km of road which has to be maintained. Those roads are of great importance because they are vital in terms of allowing people to get out to participate in commerce and so forth.