Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are approximately 91,000 km of regional and local roads in Ireland. They account for 94% of the country's road network, which carry around 54% of all roads. The Minister, Deputy Ross, was in the Chamber earlier. He inherited a mess made by previous Governments which has left many roads with little or poor funding, especially in areas where political representation was weak.

We raised the condition and funding of roads on numerous occasions last year during discussions on the programme for Government. We have now received a commitment in the programme to increase the capital budget for regional and local roads by approximately 50%. An extra spend of 9% this year is a move in the right direction but is in no way enough. A figure of 50% over the lifetime of the Government is neither enough nor soon enough as many roads in south west Cork, which I represent, are crumbling. Last year was a prime example of this where roads throughout west Cork were closed for weeks on end. The road in Ballinspittle in west Cork is still closed. In some cases, not even a digger could travel on these roads. This was not the fault of the Minister. As I said earlier, he inherited a mess as the roads budget was totally underfunded.

Local authorities need to be funded properly and to revert to having more council staff on roadsides having a bigger effect in their counties. An embargo on council workers was simply penny wise and pound foolish. Dykes and gulleys are blocked. The fact that dykes have not been cleared has led to roads being washed away costing millions of euro. There is simply no funding for staff. This embargo must be lifted. Local authorities had full charge of verge cutting down through the years and it was carried out brilliantly. The fact that our verges are not being cut is costing this country millions of euro in terms of car damage and car rental companies not paying people who rent their cars because of scratches and tears. It is costing our tourism industry quite a lot as well. Tree felling needs to be carried by local authorities. The local authority needs to look after the roadside. We are paying so many taxes, including the local property tax. Surely the roadside should be looked after by the local authority when we are paying motor tax. We have potholes on our roads and our cars are being damaged on a regular basis.

There has been report after report in respect of the N71, R586 and R585 in west Cork, but little or nothing has been spent on them down through the years. The money that has been spent on reports should be spent on passing bays. They will not cost a fortune but would be hugely effective. We do not want any flyover there. We want some simple work to be carried out to create employment in west Cork and promote our region as a place apart, which it is. The Minister met with a cross-party delegation from west Cork some weeks back. Since this meeting, we have had movement and the Minister has given consideration to many of the roads I mentioned. If he does, he will be the first Minister to have done so and will have the full support of the Rural Independent Group in what is a very difficult job. I also thank the Minister and his Department for the announcement of over €500,000 for west Cork roads last week. This is greatly welcomed by all of us in west Cork and is a move in the right direction.

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