Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

-----to contribute to this debate, albeit briefly. Unfortunately, there is not more time available.

The Minister concluded his remarks last night by stating the arrangements put in place did work, but there is some room for reflection and review of lessons learned which can be built upon and which may be of assistance in responding to future such events. That is true. As Deputy Cuffe identified earlier, these events, whilst not one-off, certainly do not happen too frequently. Fortunately, we have not had such an event for a considerable period of time. We are in a different world in terms of the number of vehicles on the road and road usage. Clearly, we are in a position to learn and we need to do that.

I want to address the extent of the road network that was gritted. I will not suggest in this House that we should try to cover the 96,000 km of roadway in the country, but there is room for considerable improvement. We are only covering 14% at present and we need to look at some of the more strategic routes that were not covered. In the first instance, this must be a matter for the local authorities on an area by area basis in consultation with councillors. Many councils are carrying out reviews, and I welcome that.

Rural populated areas were severely affected and we must ensure that where possible, and within reason, a better effort is made to facilitate the needs of people in these areas. In my area, there are villages such as Feakle, Flagmount, Broadford, O'Callaghan's Mills in east Clare, Kilmealy and Connolly in west Clare and villages in north Clare that were affected. That is unacceptable.

I believe in local democracy and much of the work and planning must be done by the local authorities. They need assistance, not diktat. They need assistance with sourcing of salt, grit and equipment, and that must be given. It is somewhat disingenuous of the Opposition, who in an effort to blame the Government for the weather, have lost what I consider as their historic rhetoric of empowering local government.

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