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

I welcome the opportunity to raise this important matter. I thank the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, for coming to the House to address the issue. Like many colleagues, over the Christmas recess I had the opportunity to traverse County Offaly more thoroughly than I would while the Dáil is in session. Many of the important routes in the county are in a state of disrepair following harsh winter weather conditions and persistent heavy rainfall, coupled with the unique circumstances that pertain in Offaly and parts of north Tipperary as a result of the extent to which our road network crosses boglands. The water table has been very high all winter, which is putting huge pressure on the road network. Subsidence and large potholes are developing on our regional roads, which makes driving conditions very dangerous for motorists, who expect regional roads with speed limits of 80 km/h to have consistently good surfaces. In recent weeks, I have been inundated by constituents contacting me to express concern and frustration with the condition of the roads.

Now that the economy has recovered and we are all working in a determined manner to attract enterprise and increased tourism activity to the county, the road network urgently requires additional investment that recognises the very specific nature of the network, which is built on peat foundations. I am very concerned by the situation. Engineers accept that road surfaces built on peat foundations require significantly more investment to ensure standards are maintained. The surface of such a road will last for approximately five years in normal conditions compared to an expected lifespan of 20 years for roads built on proper foundations. The Minister will recall a presentation in Edenderry at which the local engineer highlighted that issue to him. It is apparent following the recent persistent rainfall that structural problems are developing on the regional, local and tertiary road network, which means that local authorities in Offaly, Tipperary County Council and Laois require additional funding from the Minister’s Department to help mitigate the problem before it gets worse.

I wish to highlight the routes by which I am most concerned. The R357 from Blueball to Shannonbridge is a very important, busy regional route, many stretches which have been undermined over the winter months. Many other road arteries are causing a driving hazard for drivers who may not be familiar with them. For example, in north Tipperary the very important R438 Borrisokane to Athlone regional route is flooded. The last time that road was so heavily flooded, people were able to jet ski on it because it was like a huge pond. I do not advocate such behaviour but it illustrates how much water was on the road.

Locally there are engineering solutions and I am aware that the local authority has suggestions and ideas but the funding is what is at stake.

I drove the R436 recently when I did my clinics from Tullamore, back through Ferbane and on to Moystown Cross via Belmont. That road is in dreadful condition for a regional route. The road is actually subsiding at the edges and in the middle, not to mention the amount of potholes, and it is really dreadful to see the damage there.

I also spoke of the additional work that is required on the N62 and the N52. I will not go back into that again because I know the Minister is well aware of this. There needs to be recognition that rural dwellers pay their motor taxes, their property taxes, their VRT and so on. They depend on the road network to go about their daily lives. I am very concerned about the deteriorating condition of the regional, county and tertiary road network.

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