Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I cannot provide a detailed response to the Deputy in that respect. Presumably these matters are still under consideration but I will have the matter checked out. I cannot give an exact and accurate reply without notice.

On the matter raised by Deputy O'Dowd, there has been a significant investment in our road network over the past decade with €15 billion spent on national and secondary roads and more than €5.5 billion on our regional and local road network.. We must try to see in what way we can protect that investment and the Minister for Transport and other Ministers will be acutely aware of the need to see how we can assist in the matter. However, there is a strong need for local authorities to give full priority to use whatever resources are available to them, including their own resources. Some of them only use 5% of their resources for road maintenance and improvements. There is a need for them to prioritise that spend in whatever way they can based on the allocations they have and whatever else the Minister will be able to apply.

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