Mr. John McLaughlin:

I have some comments on what Deputy Harrington noted. It was a very reasonable question - why not rebuild all the roads to full standard? It is really down to cost. While everybody would love that, it would not be possible to pay for it in its entirety within one or two generations. As part of examining the system we looked at what has been going on in some other countries, with some outside help from people who have worked in Wales, Scotland, New Zealand and the United States, as Mr. Mulholland mentioned. I worked on the roads in the US for 13 years so I am quite familiar with the situation there. No developed country can rebuild all its roads within a generation or two. What some people consider at times of little money is that although the highest standard cannot be achieved for all roads, it is possible to do more to reach a reasonable standard. That is counter to what the Deputy said but there is a balance. This system will give us those options in time and then it will be a matter of making decisions - what do we want to do? Do we want to spend €4 million per km, or spend €100,000 per km and do 40 km? Those are trade-offs and require information and options and for the implications to be clear for those making the decisions. That is all I will say on that point.

Senator Mooney mentioned Leitrim, which is close to Donegal so I might as well comment. I would know some of the Leitrim roads and I share the Senator's view. In fairness, when we look at the maps of places in the country we have done so far there is quite a bit of green. That is a snapshot in time. If one did nothing, a point Mr. Mulholland made, those green areas would deteriorate more and more. It is a matter of what can be done to hold them. The scoring system we have will, hopefully, bring consistency. Ultimately, the big decision is whether money should follow the bad roads or be given out under traditional practices. Those are the decisions ahead of us as a country.

Mr. Mulholland answered the point about heavy loads. In fairness, cars do not damage roads with their weight. Rather it is the heavy vehicles.

There is a balance between companies trying to make money, business and jobs, as well as urban and rural concerns. Mr. Mulholland spoke of a code of practice and that is the best and most reasonable way to go. It will never be a perfect world for everybody.