Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy that I will do everything I can in the coming months to ensure that we have a capital budget for the motorways and other roads that is as large as possible, because I am aware of the problem every day of my life. What is called the steady State expenditure, which is such a high proportion of the money we have spent on roads, explains a lot of the problem to which the Deputy refers. The fact that we have to spend so much money just on the maintenance of the roads because the network is so extensive is indicative of the problems, which is going to remain with us for a long period. As the Deputy is aware, there are plans in the capital plan for some fairly dramatic movement upwards and spending on roads from 2019 onwards. I am very optimistic that when that period comes we will see a great improvement in the roads and that the spending on some of the areas that are high profile and have been lacking will be extended.

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