Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Recent heavy rainfall and flooding has been an enormous source of stress in communities throughout the country but, naturally, my concerns must be local. Constituents in Offaly and north Tipperary have raised the issue of structural problems occurring on regional, local and tertiary roads as result of recent downpours. In areas which had been previously neglected the problem has been exacerbated by the recent storms. In some areas filling in potholes would be sufficient, but in other areas local towns and villages have been cut off. For example, the access road to Banagher from Lusmagh in west Offaly has been flooded since the beginning of December. This inconvenience is bad enough for day to day travel, but recently I heard from a bed and breakfast owner who had to cancel her bookings over Christmas because nobody could access the property. She is concerned, naturally, about loss of earnings. She was not flooded but her home was inaccessible.

Lack of access between Shannon Harbour and Banagher meant the local public house suffered a loss of income despite the fact the property was not flooded. There was a lack of access to the village at a very busy time of the year, which was important for the business. These are local roads which will require considerable investment in future.

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They need to be improved to a level where people can actually access their own homes and businesses at times of flooding. We must accept that flooding will occur on a regular basis and we must plan for that reality. Whether we like it or not, whether we are climate change deniers, sceptics or whatever, the fact is that our climate is changing and this type of torrential rain will be a feature of our lives into the future. We need to do the necessary planning to ensure people do not have their access to their properties cut off on a regular basis.

Extra funding is required for the considerable investment that must be put into regional roads. Last week, I visited the flooded section of the N65, which is a national secondary route located between Borrisokane and Portumna. Lough Derg flooded at Ballyquirke Cross, cutting access for ordinary vehicles. Only those driving large jeeps or trucks could get from one area to another. Such was the level of flooding that in order to highlight it, several local sports enthusiasts took to their water skis. I am not condoning that necessarily, but it was an imaginative way of showing the difficulty involved in getting from place to place. Some excellent improvement work was done by the National Roads Authority last year on a section of the road near the new bridge. That section did not flood. I appeal to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, to continue its good work in the area by putting a programme in place whereby the rest of the road can be resurfaced and upgraded to achieve the same positive impact. It is vital that this important artery through the area does not flood again.

The regional and local roads network likewise needs attention. During the recession, all budgets were cut across all Departments. The focus in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport was on capital projects, concentrating on motorways and some national secondary roads. The sections of the N62, for example, between Birr and Athlone and between Cloghan and Banagher were badly in need of upgrading. That work was started as part of a multi-annual investment plan and will be finished next year. However, the focus must now shift to regional, local and tertiary roads, some of which have been neglected to the extent that they are beginning to deteriorate. I have in mind, in particular, the R357, a regional road from Blue Ball to Shannonbridge which continues on to Ballinasloe. It is another very important route in which investment is required.

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