Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is almost 20 years since I first entered local government but to this day we are still talking about potholes in my community. I commend the local authorities on the work they do with the limited resources that are made available to them. Issues can be addressed here today and I am delighted that the Rural Independent Group tabled the motion, although it may be compromised since they went into the Minister's office.

Many issues have arisen in recent years. When funding for roads was cut, health and safety issues were brought to the fore. It could take two workers to fill one pothole because of health and safety issues, which causes tremendous cost for local authorities. Major road works, such as village roads being resurfaced, are another issue. The villages are shut down for months on end. It happened in Buttevant, where two local byroads suffered heavily. Extra funding should be made available for those projects to facilitate the byroads while the works are going ahead.

On a bigger scale, we have to get the M20 up and running. Why do I say that to the Minister of State and to the House? It is good to see a rural Minister of State across the Chamber. I say it because the Government speaks about more people being back at work. The more people who are back at work, the more cars that are on the roads and the more parents who are out and about taking their children to school and so forth.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, was on the television and radio after Christmas giving out about the major increase in the number of accidents. People rang me and said, "Kevin, a lot of those accidents are because of bad roads".

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