Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Deputy Troy on bringing forward this important motion. It is very important in my own constituency for one main reason, which is that we have no motorways in counties Cavan or Monaghan. The motorway stops on the Meath border. We are the forgotten counties when it comes to motorways. The N2, which is a death trap and has had numerous fatalities, needs to be upgraded to motorway status. We have no rail lines. When all this is laid out, the Minister can understand why we are completely dependent on our regional and rural road network. Our local authorities are put to the pin of their collar because of the degree to which the roads are falling apart. They are fire fighting. It is a case of sticking-plaster jobs just to keep us going until the next heavy rainfall when we are completely flooded and the road surface is gone completely. I am not exaggerating when I say that roads in the constituency of Cavan-Monaghan are deplorable. I will give the Minister a snapshot.

In my office in Bailieborough in the first five working days in January I received 52 complaints about roads and potholes. In one case a woman came into my constituency office. Her child is going to the Holy Family school which is the only one in the constituency for children with disabilities and special needs. That child took a seizure on the road to school and that parent put it down specifically to the potholes in the road and the disturbance the children face as they try to get to school every day.

I urge the Minister to accept the motion and give our local authorities the funding they need to provide the basics of proper roads in our constituencies.

See this speech in context