Mr. Pat Maher:

The part of the network that wears out the most is the pavement. We have to maintain our pavements. To follow up on Mr. Walsh's point with a general comment, we are relatively well funded in terms of our pavement programme. The Government took note of the strong case that was made in that regard. Where we fall below international norms is in current account funding. We plug that gap through the use of the toll revenue we generate, but as a general rule, Exchequer funding on the current account side is less than what our peers elsewhere have. We manage this situation, but there is a danger that, if we do not have enough funding for routine maintenance, the asset will deteriorate before we have the opportunity to intervene. As a nation, we need to be conscious of the principle that a stitch in time saves nine.