Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In the brief time available to me, I want to reaffirm what has been said by my colleagues and what will be said by others about the Minister's responsibility to deal with this issue and the lack of accountability to date regarding how he has handled the matter. The gravest issues facing us today as representatives are housing, health, broadband and roads. Roads throughout the country are in absolute rag order. The Minister has made a dog's dinner of a few things in recent weeks that have come to the public's realisation. Having met me and local councillors in my constituency in Edenderry towards the end of last year, the Minister is well aware that the representations made by those members and that local authority are based on fact-based analysis. They are based on the fact that 40% of their roads are built on peat foundations, the fact that Edenderry needs an inner relief road for it to survive and because of the funding for the link road that was put in place and provided for six or seven years ago with regard to the N6 and Tullamore. The Minister took all those on board and gave the impression that there would be success but it did not happen. The Minister might think a 10% increase is something to be proud of, despite the neglect over the previous six or seven years. It is not like Stepaside where the Minister can walk into a Cabinet meeting and get what he wants. It is not like the appointment of judges where the Minister can get what he wants. It is not about the capital of a region that might be based on the representations of a certain Minister. We like to deal in fact-based analysis and real criteria that can stand up. The Minister needs to exert his muscles the way he likes to give the impression he can by making an intervention at this stage to make up for the failings over the past six or seven years by those who lead the Government. It is incumbent on him to do so. As Deputy Troy said, he gave a commitment to a 50% increase initially as part of the programme for Government and he now thinks that 10% over two years will solve the problem. It will not solve the problem. If the Minister really wants balanced and sustainable regional development and the regions beyond the east to compete on a level playing pitch, he should at least allow them to have the infrastructure to allow them to compete at the level at which they want to compete. I implore the Minister to use his good offices to such an effect and call the Government to account on this issue and insist that there be a once-off investment in regional, county and local roads in order that those areas will have the opportunity to compete on a level playing pitch. We saw the investment in the national primary network ten or 12 years ago and the success it brought the regions. They are now crying out for similar help to allow them to become connected to those specific roads that will allow them to compete on a level playing pitch.

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