Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I do not expect the Minister for Transport to be in the country every day of the year because he is entitled to his holidays. However, no command and control systems were in place to provide leadership in the aftermath of the weather crisis. I drove into Dublin on the Wednesday night of the snowfall and encountered complete chaos. I did not see a single figure of authority on the roads. Emergency planning was non-existent.

I recognise that it will be difficult to provide additional funding but it is important that the Minister determine the extent of the damage at the earliest opportunity. I regret that he decided to transfer responsibility for funding non-national roads to the NRA. I advise him to drive through parts of Wicklow, north Carlow, such as Clonmore, Hacketstown, Aughavanna and Deputy Doyle's country around Glendalough. Unless he sees the devastation for himself, he will not understand the extent of the problem. I do not know whether additional funding can be obtained from the EU but this issue needs to be addressed urgently because our roads were in a better condition 50 years ago.

See this speech in context