Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Hogan for tabling this motion. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Government and the local authorities failed the people in the recent cold snap. We were the laughing stock of the world. We got a small bit of snow and the whole country and capital city came to a halt. I had a visitor from Chicago at the time and he started laughing at our response. He informed me when it snows in Chicago, the ploughs are dispensed first to push the snow to one side and then the gritters salt the roads. In Ireland, we let the snow be frozen over and then we had problems for a month.

The people of rural Ireland suffered with floods in November and December and then snow in the new year. There was not a word about the snow until Dublin got five snowflakes. The minute they got five flakes in Dublin, the whole world knew there was a problem. Everyone was then looking for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, but neither of them could be found.

The local authorities did not do too bad a job in clearing the national primary roads. They were a disgrace, however, when it came to the national secondary roads and footpaths. From St. Stephen's Day to when the cold snap finished, hundreds of people had to attend hospital with fractures due to falls on footpaths all because the local authorities did not do their job.

When I put down a question to the Minister on local authorities, I am informed by him he has no responsibility in the matter. That is carried through to the local authorities which also claim they have no responsibility for anything. When we did not have enough salt to grit a few roads, sand was not allowed to be taken from beaches because we were afraid it might damage the environment. The people were outraged by this.

Car owners have NCT tests and must pay road tax and car insurance. They must pay large Government levies when buying a car when one could buy one cheaper elsewhere in Europe. They expect the local authorities and the Minister to maintain roads in a fit state. Last week no Third World country had as bad a road as the Bellacorick to Belmullet road. It was inspected last week by the National Roads Authority. Under the old system, the Department and the authority would tell the local authority to start the work on it and the funding would be sorted later. Now, the authority tells the local authorities not to start the work until it gives them the funding and go-ahead.

Why was there no national plan in place for the recent cold snap? Why was the Army not called out sooner? Why were people who offered assistance in their communities ignored? They did not even get a bit of grit to spread because the local authority did not believe they were fit to do the job. The Government, the local authorities and the other agencies involved have all failed and let the people down. We were the laughing stock of the world because when we got a small bit of snow our whole economy collapsed.

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