Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The state and neglect of our local and regional road network is disgraceful. The impact that the disrepair of our roads has on small towns and rural business, education and social lives is horrendous. We need more investment in the building, improvement, maintenance and repair of our road system. This is essential if we are to improve the standards and conditions of living in rural Ireland, including in its urban centres. This investment is needed if we are to arrest the decline in the population of so many rural communities.

As stated in the motion, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has, on average over the past five years, provided local councils with less than half the amount of funding that is deemed necessary to maintain roads. I believe there is a further problem in addition to funding. The abolition of town councils by Fine Gael's former Minister Phil Hogan has left a deep democratic deficit. It was at this level of our then democratic system that many of these roads or small town streets were maintained over the years.

The motion also states that an annual investment of €580 million is required to maintain the current regional and local road network, €163 million more than has been allocated this year. It also calls on the Government to significantly increase the regional and local roads budget in the context of the Capital Investment Plan 2016-2021. In 2017, just over €319 million was spent on regional and local roads, of which 2.8%, or €9 million, was spent on the roads in County Cavan which is one half of my constituency. Only 2.4%, or €7.6 million, was spent on the roads in County Monaghan, which is the other half of my constituency and my home county. There was no money provided in specific improvement grant payments or strategic regional or local road payments in 2017 in the constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. It is clear to me that Cavan-Monaghan is way down the pecking order when it comes to the provision of funding. This will have to end and the situation needs to be addressed. I hope that this will be signalled and that the impending national planning framework will be the first assurance in that regard.

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