Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Essentially, a motorway terminates in the middle of the village of Adare. The motorway from Dublin to Limerick, that is the M7 and M20, terminates in the middle of the village. This project must be prioritised. I acknowledge that times are tough and that constraints exist but I have demonstrated the point previously in this Chamber that road projects are starting in the south east, in Deputy John Paul Phelan's part of the country, albeit in a neighbouring county. However, the same traffic volumes are not being experienced there as on the roads in my constituency, which appear to be left behind. I do not know how this happens and would not care to even imagine but this is an absolute priority at present. The position is getting much worse and I refer to interim urban relief works, such as those carried out in the town of Roscrea, close to the Minister of State's home base. For many years, the Roscrea relief road solved a difficult problem for that town until the arrival of the motorway. For towns such as Newcastle West, Adare and Abbeyfeale, similar solutions must be considered because they are being choked with cars and traffic. Moreover, although the aforementioned road conveys the bulk of the tourist traffic from Dublin and Shannon airports into County Kerry and the south west, it is not inviting and is proving very difficult for business to take place.

I will conclude by stating it is my intention to table amendments that would make the Bill more workable in respect of pre-planning. Finally, I concur with some remarks made some time ago on the existing Roads Act 1993 and specifically with regard to section 76. I honestly do not believe that local authority members are aware of the power local authorities have in respect of drainage. At present, there are roads that resemble canals throughout the country. Local authorities have the power, without any major rigmarole, to remove water from the roads.

The reality, however, is that there is a reluctance on the part of some local authorities to do this because of the work involved. The powers laid down in legislation in this regard are not being invoked. Our local authority members need to take responsibility for this matter and ensure that their county managers, senior executive engineers and engineers are removing water from the roads. There is no excuse for their not doing so. While I acknowledge that water levels are currently high, what is being allowed to happen around the country is, to put it mildly, dangerous.

I commend this Bill to the House. I believe it is a good Bill that will streamline two agencies that have served us well. While staff of the NRA and the RPA have done a good job, it is time to move on. The proposed amalgamation of these agencies into the transport infrastructure service is the next step in this regard. I reiterate my intention to propose a minor amendment to the Bill on Committee Stage.

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