Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this motion, which I support. The roads budget is a major problem. We know that from 2008 up to now, most counties received only 55% of what they received in 2008. We are wasting a lot of money. The day of the 804 and tar and chip on top of it is over because, unfortunately the 804 is disintegrating underneath it. We need to go down the road of DPM macadam. It currently costs approximately €9.50 per metre to tar and chip. The cost of filling potholes on our roads every five to seven years, because these roads are falling apart over those years, is approximately €13 per metre. There are two options. On small roads, we could put three inches of macadam on top of the chip and then put tar on top of that, which is a 15 to 18 year road guarantee, or we could do a better job at a cost of €20 per metre which would bring us to a 25 year cycle. We need to front load the budget for the next ten years. Previously, we had a programme of one in ten years in relation to the repair of roads but it is now one in 20 years.

The Minister needs to double the budget for the next ten years. If he does that, we will not have to spend nearly as much money on roads because they will be in a 25 year cycle and in good condition. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is not listening to what Deputies are saying about roads and how they are disintegrating. All we are doing is putting on a patch where we need a tube.

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