Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. There is a saying, "If one always does what one has always done, one always gets what one has always got". We cannot kick the can any further down the road. I have been raising this and other issues regarding roads for three years since I entered this House in March 2011. I have constantly been pushed from Billy to Jack, from Department to Department or local authority. It is time we had a fresh look at how we deal with our roads. There are two fundamental issues. One is the unfairness of the amount of money collected in County Cork. The Minister referred to the larger counties supplementing the smaller ones. That does not wash because the larger counties have larger road networks. Areas with a critical mass of population should subvent more rural areas, and in County Cork we struggle with many areas that are sparsely populated. The size of the county does not mean we can afford to give more money to other counties. I hope the Minister will take that point on board.

We contributed 12.25% of the motor tax and received only 8.4% back in the general purpose grants. The Department has a responsibility when it allocates hundreds of millions of euro to do more than just say it is up to the council to ensure we get value for money. Given that the country is at crisis point financially, Departments must step up to the mark, take responsibility and ensure value for the money they allocate is delivered to the taxpayer. The Department owes that to the taxpayer. As a representative I have a responsibility to the taxpayer to ensure accountability comes from the top down and that the Government is not fudging, kicking the can down the road or passing it from Department to Department and to the local authority.

I plead with the Minister, with his Department and General Secretary, to take a step back from this and examine the two principal issues I raised, namely, the unfairness of the amount of road tax collected in County Cork and the wastage of money. The local authorities are throwing tar into pot holes and repairing roads year on year at enormous cost and spending up to 65% of the money allocated by the Departments on wages. That is not value for money and does not make sense. Somebody somewhere must stand up and be counted for this and ensure the taxpayer gets the value for so money they rightly deserve.

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